


Harry Potter and the Twin He Shouldn't Have

by Sayuri_Zen_av_Elda



Series: Harry Potter and the Twin [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: A bit of Dumbledore Bashing, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Depression, Eventual romance (but not know bc they're eleven), Fix-it (I guess?), Gen, Harry Potter Has a Twin, Harry's scar is not a puny little thing, Maybe smut/sex (when they're not children), Memory Loss (of Sorts), Ravenclaw!Harry, Reincarnation, Ron's an arse but he comes around, Some Swearing, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:35:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 89,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27525460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sayuri_Zen_av_Elda/pseuds/Sayuri_Zen_av_Elda
Summary: After finding herself reborn as Harry Potter's twin, Henry's goal in life is to ensure her and Harry's survival. If that means bending the plot as she sees fit, then so be it. She's not dying a second time because Voldemort decided twins weren't to his fancy.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy & Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy & Original Character(s), Fred Weasley & George Weasley & Original Female Character(s), Harry Potter & Fred Weasley & George Weasley, Harry Potter & Original Character(s), Harry Potter & Original Female Character(s), Hermione Granger & Harry Potter, Hermione Granger & Original Character(s), Original Character(s) & Original Character(s)
Series: Harry Potter and the Twin [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2011816
Comments: 15
Kudos: 168





	1. The Second Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that's already read this, gave kudos and/or commented! I appreciate you all (the silent readers too. You deserve recognition for reading it too. I've been one as well).
> 
> For those of you that's new here, welcome and I hope you enjoy my fic! This is the finished re-write of the original HPATTHSH.

There were no lights on. Shadows crowded the room, making it hard to see anything. But that wasn't important right now. What Henry wanted to focus on was her tiny arms, non-existent muscles and the fact she was lying in a crib.

She was trying very hard not to panic. It was hard, because this was decidedly not her bedroom and she was decidedly not in her own body. There was also a baby sharing the crib with her. It was looking at her with big, green eyes.

_Deep breaths,_ she told herself. _Don't panic._ It wouldn't do much good. This was just a realistic dream.

The door flew open with a bang. The baby beside her whimpered, but a quick pat from Henry calmed it (him?) down.

A woman rushed over to them and picked the boy up. She hushed him before planting a kiss on his forehead and returning him to the crib. "Mommy loves you," she told them. "Daddy loves you lots too."

That didn't sound foreboding at all. Henry struggled to stand up and gripped the crib. "Was dis?" she asked, cursing her way too realistic body. "Was appen?"

Their apparent mum caressed her temple with a sad smile. "So curious," she murmured, disregarding Henry's question. "Mommy got you." She picked Harry up with one arm and grabbed Henry with the other before murmuring something in what Henry recognised as Latin.

Another door slamming disrupted her chanting. People were screaming bloody murder downstairs. The woman bit her lip, forcing back tears and began chanting again. She was almost finished when the door flew off its hinges and into the wall. All three of them screamed.

"Twins?" a raspy, ugly voice hissed.

The woman practically threw Henry and the baby ( _twins_? Had she heard that right?) in the crib and faced whoever had disturbed them.

"Don't touch my children."

"Move away, woman. I'm not interested in you."

While they talked, Henry moved sideways to look at the person belonging to the oddly familiar voice. She gasped when her eyes landed on a white, bald Voldemort.

_What? What the hell?_

His glowing red eyes met hers and he blinked. "I'm sure the prophecy didn't mention twins…" he mused before turning back to their mum. "Move or I'll do it for you."

"Over my dead body!"

Henry stared up at her. At her mother. At Lily Potter. This was one weird dream—

"Then perish. Avada Kedavra!"

Green lightning shot out from his wand and hit Lily square in the chest. She crashed into the crib, sending it tumbling to the floor. Henry and Harry (oh God it was Harry Potter oh God) gently landed on some fallen pillows.

"Ajjy!" Henry gasped and crawled over to the boy. He cried and grabbed her as soon as she reached him. She moved to stand in front of him. "Nyo! Bad you!"

Voldemort loomed over the crib with a sneer. "Disgusting creature."

"Nyo, you!" Henry shot back seconds before he raised his wand at her face. Wait, what? High time to wake up! "Don—"

"Avada Kedavra!"

Green filled her vision. Something sharp and hard hit the bridge of her nose and travelled like cracks in a stone across her face. The majority of the curse shot to the right, up her forehead right at Harry. Their screams of pain mixed with that of Voldemort's.

But dear Lord, the Killing Curse wasn't supposed to _hurt_!

* * *

She woke up sometime later. It was still dark, so she figured it hadn't been that long. Forcing herself to sit up, she scanned the wrecked room for Harry. If this wasn't a dream (which she highly doubted because it made no sense), he might be badly hurt.

"Enjy," he cried quietly. She followed his voice and grabbed his bloody hand. Actually, taking a better look at him revealed his whole face was covered in it. She couldn't be looking any better.

_Ignore it._ She swallowed the pain and made him follow her around the crib. Lily lay awkwardly against it, unmoving and not breathing. Henry poked her thigh. When she didn't stir, she moved to her stomach where she sat down. This was her first time seeing a dead person. Lily had no wounds and there were no signs of the Killing Curse. It looked like she was sleeping.

"Mommy," Harry whimpered and pressed his face against Lily's ribs. "Mommy, wakey."

Henry bit her lip to stop it from quivering. She was a twenty-one-year-old university student—she had to be the strong one. Even though she didn't want to.

If they tried, they could probably make it down the stairs. But where would they go next? Godric's Hollow wasn't close to either the Dursleys, Remus or Sirius. If they wandered outside now, they'd die or be picked up by strangers. But if they stayed, Dumbledore was definitely sending them to the Dursleys. Henry sure as hell didn't want to be abused by them for ten years before going to Hogwarts—if the dream (yes it _was_ a dream) got that far, that is.

"Daddy? Wheje daddy?"

Oh shit. She'd forgotten about him. James was downstairs somewhere, most definitely also dead. She glanced at Lily. She really didn't want to come across him too.

What to do? Leave or stay? Follow the known or unknown?

She groaned and leaned against Lily, mimicking Harry. At least if they were handed over to the Dursleys, she knew what to expect. Maybe she could counter it somehow. Yes, let the Dursleys know the wrath of a one-year-old. Or… how old was she exactly? One and a half?

They stayed curled up against Lily, sharing the last of her warmth before it faded forever, for quite awhile. They were dozing off when someone entered the house and quickly ran up the stairs, which was what woke them up. A disheveled and distraught Sirius stopped at the doorway, taking in the scene.

"Lily," he sobbed and fell on his knees. That's when he noticed the blood on the twins. "Oh Merlin!" He gathered them in his arms and cleaned their faces with a spell. Then he hissed. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I thought… I thought we could… He was our friend."

"Iijus," Henry called and grabbed his shirt. "Hejp."

He nodded, with a last regretful look at Lily, and picked them both up. "I want you to close your eyes, okay? There's some scary stuff down there." Meaning, James' body. Got it. She closed her eyes and let Sirius take them out the room, through the corridor, down the stairs where he slowed to move carefully around something (James, undoubtedly) before high-tailing it out into the cold night air.

Harry was fast asleep, but Henry was wide awake. She looked at the broken house and then at Sirius. "Head hujt."

"I know, little fawn, I know. Uncle Sirius will get help."

She nodded before looking ahead of them. "Scajed."

"Don't be. Uncle will help you."

_No you won't._ He would go after Pettigrew and get blamed for his crimes. Was there a way to save him? If she did, Harry wouldn't have to stay with the Dursleys, at least in this dream.

"Iijus?" He glanced at her. "Don go afej Pee-ej." The pure horror on his face would have been funny if not for the current situation. "Pomise!"

"How did you— Nevermind… But Henry, he hurt your parents." He kissed her temple. "Uncle will bring justice to them and then you can come live with me, alright?"

"Nyo!" she said and shoved at his cheek. "Don do that! Nyo! Nyo, nyo, nyo, nyo!"

Sirius' frown turned sad. "Alright… I promise. Let's get you to St. Mungo's."

Henry smiled tiredly and nuzzled his neck. Her eyelids grew heavy until she couldn't keep them open anymore.

_Please, let that be enough._

* * *

The next time she regained consciousness, she was in another unfamiliar room. It had a white ceiling and baby blue wallpaper with funny animals on it. She poked her head up from the crib she was laying in and saw Harry still sleeping in the one next to her. Thank God. She didn't know what to do if they got separated.

A door opened and a nurse walked inside. They looked at each other for a moment before the nurse said something incoherent and ran off. Henry tried to arch a brow but ended up scrunching up her whole face. Which hurt. A lot.

Harry woke with a start at the sound of her crying. He reached for her and tried his best to cheer her up. That's what the healer and nurse saw when they came back; the twins holding hands and crying.

They were taken to another room for examinations. They were poked a lot and had wands shoved in their faces. Henry especially wasn't fond of that and immediately swatted at them. Mostly she cried, too. She couldn't help it, her body reacted on its own.

From what she heard the healers say, there wasn't any lasting damage on either of them, save for the horrendous scars cracking their faces like marble. They were brought before a mirror to see their new faces. Henry gaped at the sight. Screw Harry's puny little ziggzagg scar from the movies, _these_ were real lightning bolts. And they were impossible to hide. Great.

They slept a lot. Henry wasn't sure how long they were there for, but she guessed a week before Hagrid was allowed to get them. From the eyes of a tiny toddler, he looked as big as a house. She was so surprised she cried, which made him less than popular in Harry's eyes (you know, big scary monster making his sister cry and all that). But Hagrid bribed them with candy and put them in that flying motorcycle she remembered from the movies.

Seeing the night sky of London from up above was both amazing and utterly terrifying. It was at that moment Henry remembered something about herself.

She had acrophobia.

By the time they reached Privet Drive, Harry was sound asleep in his basket and Henry was sure several years had been taken from her life. Even though she was terrified of living with the Dursleys, she was happy the flight of death had ended without her joining her new parents in the afterlife.

Dumbledore and McGonagall were waiting for them. The Headmaster picked up her new brother, who was asleep yet again, and hummed in satisfaction. McGonagall pulled Henry into her arms and they had a short staring contest (which Henry won).

"Iijus?" she asked and looked around. Had he kept his promise not to go after Pettigrew? She sobbed when she didn't see him.

"Aw, poor thing," said McGonagall and patted her head. "Sirius Black is… occupied… right now."

"Vy?"

The Deputy Headmistress looked to Dumbledore for help.

He chuckled goodnaturedly, which only served to piss Henry off. It wasn't a laughing-matter! Sirius could seriously die out there.

"Sirius Black, I'm afraid, is to be prosecuted for helping the criminal that gave you that scar to find you," he explained. "Is that a good answer?"

She wanted to say no. She wanted to tell him it was Pettigrew that did it, which he, by the way, should know, since _he_ cast the Fidelius Charm. But he'd probably wipe her memories or something. McGonagall and Hagrid wouldn't listen to a toddler's words either.

So she pouted. "I vant Iijus."

"Now now," was Dumbledore's reply before placing Harry in a transfigured basket. McGonagall placed her in another one. "Be a good girl and sleep." He poked her forehead and she felt a cold, foreign _something_ enter her. That coiling thing was quickly dealt with by something warm that moved inside her body. Was it magic? It felt weird.

She pretended to fall asleep.

"Albus, are you sure we should leave them here?" McGonagall asked quietly. "I've been watching these Muggles all day—they're the worst sort there is."

"That may be, but they're the twins' only living family. Better they grow up with them than in a world where they will never know peace."

_Excuse me? Never know peace? What poetic bullshit!_

The three of them left soon after. If Harry'd been awake, she would have said screw it and walked away, unknown or known future be damned. She wasn't about to become a living martyr. By now she was pretty sure this wasn't a dream at all, which meant that not only had she no idea how she'd gotten here or what happened to her body and family, but that everything that happened so far was very real. In the coming years, she'd be facing off with Voldemort and his followers more than once. The possibility of her dying was too big to ignore anymore.

She tried to look at Harry, but the blanket was so tightly wrapped around her she couldn't even leave if she wanted to. It was up to her to prepare him for the coming war. It was up to her to protect him from harm. Starting with the Dursleys.

A twig snapped. Gravel moved from the road as someone approached them. Henry braced herself for a concerned neighbour seeing them, for a kidnapper to take them, anything really, except what actually greeted her.

A big black dog walked up to them and sniffed her blanket. Its eyes were dark and held intelligence far beyond that of a normal dog.

She blinked. "Iijus?" The dog gave a short nod and she beamed at him. "Ay, Iijus! Yay!"

The dog wagged its tail, obviously delighted by her reaction. It carefully licked her cheek (ew!) before laying down between the baskets. She calmed down a bit seeing that he wasn't about to leave.

So he hadn't been caught. Thank God. Did this mean he was staying with them? That he wouldn't go to Azkaban and she wouldn't have to figure out a way to get him out of there?

Her face must have given her thoughts away, because Sirius nodded once before looking at the dark road.

Feeling a little better about the situation, she slowly fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting off with a short chapter! They got longer and longer the more I wrote, but I still think chapter 2 is the longest, being the only one breaking 11,000 words. So far, I have nearly 90,000 in total for this book, and I'm not done yet. This is turning into a behemoth.
> 
> Also, in future notes, I'm shortening the title to HPATTHSH. Just writing Harry Potter and the Twin He Shouldn't Have takes half an eternity.


	2. Canis Major

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I was funny when I named this chapter (at the begining of January). *Slow clap* Yay me.

**_Warning:_ ** **_this chapter contains physical and mental child abuse. Also, a dog dies (unintentionally)._ **

Henry woke to the sound of a shrill scream. Petunia was gawking down at them, horror and realisation crossing her face before she slammed the door shut. Sirius growled after her before pressing his nose to a crying Harry. Henry would have gone too if she wasn't stuck underneath the blankets.

Vernon opened the door carefully, glaring at them. Without a word, he picked up the baskets and chased Sirius away. "Not muts on my property," he muttered.

"Why are they here?" Petunia asked, white in the face. "They've been gone for a _week_." Oh. Right. Of course authorities would inform her of her sister's death. Henry briefly wondered if it had been the Aurors or police.

"What are we doing with them?" was Vernon's question. "They can't stay here—what if Dudley gets that… that… _thing_?"

 _It's not a sickness,_ Henry wanted to tell them, offended on Lily's behalf.

"Not possible," mumbled Petunia. "It's inherited. But… they might hurt him." She was thinking of accidental magic.

"So what do we do?"

"Give them up for adoption, of course. I'm not touching them."

Vernon nodded and went to make some phone calls. Petunia glanced at the twins with reluctance. When she was sure Vernon wouldn't hear her, she walked up to them.

"What did they do to you?" she whispered and rubbed Henry's scar. "Oh, Lily… Why didn't you give it up?" She straightened and left before Vernon caught her.

They were moved to one of Dudley's rooms, the one Harry got later in the series. Henry was pleasantly surprised at this, she had honestly thought they'd try and fit them both in the cupboard.

Left to their own devices in a single crib, Henry moved to lean her back against it. Harry followed her example and giggled. She gave him a hesitant smile before looking at the ceiling.

It wasn't a dream. If it wasn't, it meant she had somehow ended up in the body of Harry's twin (which he definitely didn't have in the books). Or maybe she had been reborn as his twin and gotten her memories right before Voldemort appeared. The question in that case was why. Why was she reborn? Why did her memories return that fateful night? And what happened to her and her family?

"Enjy sad."

She looked at Harry. "Ajjy too."

"Mommy-daddy. Vant." He crawled over to her and laid down. "Ungjy."

Henry was hungry as well. The Dursleys wouldn't feed them until later, if at all. How horrible had the abuse been in the books, again? They only ever grazed the surface from what she remembered, being from Harry's perspective and all. He was used to it and wasn't reflecting on why they did it by the time the series started.

How was she to make sure he wasn't hurt? Vernon was as big as a walrus. If he hit them, they'd probably die. She knew for a fact Petunia whacked Harry with a frying pan. She had to do something about that too. And then there was Dudley and his gang. Harry had learned to outrun them—could they do the same this time?

"Enjy?"

"I vant Iijus," she pouted. Hopefully he wasn't far away. Hopefully he'd come barging inside and take them away. Let the magical world stumble over itself in an attempt at finding them. She just wanted out of here. She just wanted her home.

* * *

Sirius didn't come back. Henry mourned the fact he wasn't about to save them, but somewhere deep down she knew it wouldn't be that easy. He was a wanted man right now. How was he to take care of two toddlers while being on the run from the ministry?

Vernon and Petunia placed the twins in the backyard. They secretly hoped the children would leave and never come back. Of course, the twins didn't do anything of the sort. Henry saw too that Harry stayed away from the road and entertained. There wasn't much to play with, but they had a red ball they rolled between them. Oddly enough, it entertained Henry as well.

While they played, she planned. There was nothing to do about the accidental magic. It would be there, doing strange things and get them severely punished for it. She could always train it to obey her, but how, she had no clue.

Then there was kindergarten, pre-school or whatever it was called in Britain. They might be safe for a while, since Dudley was only a one-year-old and hadn't figured out his parents praised him if he bullied Harry. She had half a plan of making him their ally, but abandoned the plan. It required too much time since his parents guarded him like hawks. They weren't about to leave the twins alone with him. No, she had to accept running away from him and his future friends was the only solution. For now, at least.

School, however, was a problem. This was the 80s and she was in another country entirely. Being a twenty-one-year-old had some advantages, like knowing partly how the world worked, but also its disadvantages, like being less adaptable. But she had to keep her grades up, at least for appearance's sake. Otherwise she might get a mouth full of frying pan.

She didn't care about friends. Harry hadn't had any before, and they had to say goodbye to them anyway come their acceptance into Hogwarts. Not that Dudley would give them a chance in the first place.

After school came the beginning of _the Philosopher's Stone_. Mrs Figgs broke her leg, leading to Harry going with the Dursleys to the zoo, landing himself in trouble and… then came the letters.

How did she deal with that? She couldn't very well keep an eye on Mrs Figgs days on end, and how was she to stop her from tripping over her cats or whatever had caused the accident?

She really didn't want to go to the zoo. But if they ended up going, maybe Vernon would let them walk around by themselves, so they didn't have to sullen Dudley's birthday more… Or not, since he was afraid they'd get in trouble or use magic. She had to think of a plan when the day came.

What about the letters? If she warned Harry beforehand, maybe he could hide them before the Dursleys found out about them. Yes, that could work.

Then came the big challenge. Hogwarts itself. How was she to attend the school and get anything done while Voldemort was secretly spying from Quirrel's turban? And what was she to do about them, anyway? She'd come to Hogwarts, not knowing a thing about magic except from the series, and what help was that when she didn't understand magic in the first place?

Groaning, she leaned over the ball. "Tijed," she complained to Harry.

"Sjeep," he suggested and they crawled back to the house. The back door was closed, so they threw pebbles on the window until an angry Petunia let them in.

"If you scratched that, I'll lock you in the cupboard," she threatened. Thankfully there were no marks.

* * *

It didn't matter how cold it was, the twins weren't allowed inside. Their playground was the world, and thus they did what they wanted. Dressed in Dudley's clothes, they did their best to stand without support. It was hard as heck, but necessary. Henry wanted to go to the playground. Looking at the same old backyard got boring after a few weeks.

Christmas rolled around. It got so cold and snowy the twins had to stay inside lest they freeze to death. From the looks of Vernon and Petunia, they were considering the option.

"Was dis?" asked Harry on Christmas Day (Henry was still mind boggled at why they didn't celebrate Christmas on the 24th). He was looking at something on the floor.

Henry curiously stood and looked down. Two wrapped presents were lying at the foot of the crib, with their names clearly written on them.

Who had sent them these? There had been no mention of this in the series.

Petunia opened the door. "Time to get up—" Her eyes caught sight of the presents. "Oh _Lord_. Vernon! Vernon! Come here!"

"What is it?" He took one look inside the room and exploded. "Darn creatures! How'd they get inside?"

Petunia opened the presents carefully and blinked at the clothes inside. "I don't _think_ they're spelled…"

"Doesn't matter, they came from _that place_ , so to the bin they go!"

"Nyo! Gimme," Henry interjected and grabbed for them. "Mine!"

"Mine, mine!" mimicked Harry. "Meanie."

Petunia eyed the clothes again. "Vernon, if we keep them, we don't have to buy them more." For a while, at least. Toddler grew fast.

They got to keep the clothes. Both Harry and Henry were in love with their new outfits and patted each other in happiness. Henry secretly wished Sirius and Remus had given them the presents. If she got the chance, she'd ask.

Dudley, of course, got loads of presents. His aunt Marge came for a visit too. Marjorie was such a waste on such a horrible excuse of a human like her. It was one of Henry's favourite names and she couldn't believe it belonged to this fat— this bully.

 _Don't call them fat because you don't like them,_ she reminded herself. She had more decency than them, she decided, and wouldn't hold their body size over them. But she wanted to.

"Oh, are those…?" Vernon nodded grimly. "I see," Marge said, pressing her thin lips together. The dog she brought was eagerly trying to get free from the leash.

Harry hid behind Henry, who was staring unblinkingly at Marge. The woman frowned in discomfort and let the dog loose. It immediately went for the twins. Henry hit it with a couch pillow.

"What a savage!" said Marge.

"I am _so_ sorry." Petunia ripped the pillow from her grasp. "Be nice now or you won't get any dinner."

Henry was sure they'd starve if they didn't, so she nodded and pulled Harry to the corner to play in peace.

"Did you buy them presents?" Marge looked at their outfits in disbelief. "I thought you didn't like them."  
"Someone was kind enough to donate them," he lied. "People are very giving during Christmas." Yeah. Right.

They ate dinner. Marge wouldn't stop praising Dudley for his (horrible) table manners while giving Harry a grim stare as he got mashed potatoes in his hair. Henry was the most elegant of the trio. Instead of comments, however, she was sneered at.

"It's creepy how well-behaved she is. And those eyes! The _scars_." Marge took a sip of wine. "Is it true they died in a car accident?"

"Yes," mumbled Petunia, nibbling on her food. "Quite an unfortunate event."

"I'd say! I'm so proud to see you took them in. It must be taxing, taking care of three children." Another disapproving look Harry's way. "Especially since they're so… Hm."

 _Come on, let's hear it, you ugly cow,_ Henry silently called. _Insult us some more, why don't you?_

She didn't. Instead she asked Vernon how work went and Henry stopped listening. When she was done eating, Petunia let her roam free until Harry joined her. They went to their room to get away from the adults.

* * *

On the day of New Years, Mrs Figgs knocked on the door. Petunia had recruited her as the twins' babysitter and happily handed them to the older lady. Mrs Figgs was nice, if a bit annoying. She had tons of ill-behaved cats she just _had_ to introduce to them. Henry didn't even try to remember all their names. At least she let them watch TV when she was done.

"I made some dinner, I hope you like it," Mrs Figgs said when it was time to eat. She placed the twins on a chair each and served them something they thankfully could eat.

"Yummy," said Harry and giggled.

"Why, thank you."

Henry swallowed a serving and nodded in agreement. She had no idea what it was, but it was tasty and Mrs Figgs promised they could eat as much as they wanted.

After dinner, the three of them played some board games to pass the time. Henry kept an eye on Harry so he didn't choke on the pieces. The cats insisted on nudging them with their paws or foreheads, meowing every so often. Henry liked cats, but not when there were so many of them.

"You should go to bed," Mrs Figgs said at eight o'clock, looking at Harry whose eyes were drooping.

"Nyo," insisted Henry. "Fijewooks!"

"But Henrietta, you're falling asleep as we speak." Mrs Figgs put a blanket over Harry. He immediately snuggled it. Henry wished she had a camera.

She was about to interject, but a loud yawn caught her off-guard. She rubbed her eyes stubbornly. She had looked forward to the fireworks all day and she'd be damned if she missed them now.

"Nyo sjeep."

"Alright, no sleep. Wanna watch some TV with me?"

Henry nodded and pushed a cat out of the way. Mrs Figgs wrapped another blanket around her and let her lean against her shoulder. Henry was asleep within moments.

Mrs Figgs wasn't a bad woman. She let the twins sleep until the clock neared midnight. With five minutes to spare, she woke Henry to ask if she still wanted to see the fireworks. All sleepiness melted away and she excitedly woke Harry to join them outside. The street was full with people eagerly awaiting the spectacle.

"Sjeep," complained Harry and rubbed his eyes. He was holding Henry's hand with the other.

"Fijewooks," was Henry's excited reply.

They weren't disappointing. The loud bangs scared Harry to tears, but as soon as he saw the colourful sparkles, he reached for them with a giggle. Henry also laughed. The sounds were hurting her ears, but she refused to go back to the house. She needed to see the night sky illuminated by bright light.

It was a miracle she heard the twig snap. She reflexively turned to locate the source and stood eye to eye with Sirius' dog form. He was standing in the neighbour's garden, watching the three of them.

Behind her, someone engaged in a conversation with Mrs Figgs. She wasn't paying attention. With that in mind, Henry half crawled, half walked over to Sirius.

"Enjy." Harry had seen her and followed. Of course he had.

"Iijus," Henry said and patted him on the back. The dog gently nudged her chest with his nose. "Ello."

"Who dis?" Harry grabbed a fistful of fur and pulled. Sirius whined, but didn't move.

"Nyo, hujting him." Henry made Harry let go and apologise to Sirius. "Appy New Yeaj!" she told the dog. He barked a reply.

"Harry! Henrietta!"

Sirius looked behind them and bolted. The twins cried out in surprise.

"Don't wander around like that," Mrs Figgs scolded them, picking them both up. "What if you walked onto the road and got hurt?" She looked for Sirius' black form. "And petting stray dogs no less…"

They watched the rest of the fireworks display in her arms.

* * *

Time moved on and nothing noteworthy happened for months. Whenever the Dursleys went somewhere, they called Mrs Figgs to care for the twins. They spent the majority of their time bettering their speech and learning how to walk. While they did, Henry kept an eye open for any sight of Sirius. Days bled into weeks and weeks into months, but he never showed up. By the time Dudley's second birthday rolled around, she was sure he was gone for good. It pained her greatly. He could have at least come to check on them, now that he wasn't stuck in Azkaban.

The twins were locked in their room the day of Dudley's birthday. "And stay quiet," Petunia said.

"Meanie," said Harry after she locked the door. "Vant mommy and daddy."

"Me too."

They sat and played with Dudley's broken toys, listening to the happy chorus from downstairs. Henry had been that happy once.

 _Don't think about it._ She gave Harry a bright smile. "Pjay!" He gave her an uncharacteristically worried look before giggling.

A month later, they woke up to Vernon cursing. They peeked over the edge of the crib and smiled at the birthday presents. One held more clothes and the other two stuffed animals. Henry took the wolf and Harry the dog.

Since there was no celebration, the twins were allowed to do whatever they wanted as long as they brought no trouble. Henry's brilliant idea was to look for the playground. With her brother and their stuffed animals in tow, she left the property to wander around the streets. It wasn't the best option, but it was the only one they had.

"Aren't you the Dursley's children?" a man asked. He was holding a child's hand. "Where are they?"

"Home," said Henry. "Wheje is playgjound?"

"Um…" He took them there but didn't want to leave them without supervision. Henry lied and promised the Dursleys would come soon. Finally, the nice man left. His daughter waved happily.

The other children were scared of their scars and didn't want to play. Henry shrugged and helped Harry onto a swing. They played for hours on end until the sun began to set. When the last family left, leaving them alone, Henry decided it was time to go back.

A twig snapped. Henry froze before turning, hoping to see Sirius again.

"Yay!" She waved at the big black dog. "Iijus, ello."

He licked her face and pressed his nose to Harry's side.

"Appy bithday to us!" said Henry excitedly.

Harry clapped his hands. "Bithday!"

Sirius nodded, not acting like a dog at all, and rounded them up to head home. They placed a hand each on his back so he could lead them back.

"We vaited," Harry said suddenly. "Wheje weje you?"

Sirius barked as quietly as possible. He stopped to lick them both again, whining, before walking again.

Henry almost forgave him, if only because he was sorry. But she wanted to know why, and until then she wouldn't let it go.

"Pwease stay."

Sirius' tail dropped in rejection.

"Pwease." It didn't matter how much they begged. Sirius walked them home and made sure they were let inside before disappearing into the night.

Henry hoped they didn't have to wait months to see him again.

They ate some leftovers before being taken to bed. Harry fell asleep first. Henry had too much to think about to worry about it. If Sirius hadn't gone after Pettigrew, what had happened to the rat Animagus? Had he faked his death another way? She was also wondering about Remus. Sirius had to have told him the truth, or at least tried to. So why wasn't Remus here? Sure, he was a werewolf and probably couldn't adopt the twins by himself, but he could at least check up on them like Sirius did (twice a year, but still).

She jerked violently. Something in her chest _burned_. She gasped for breath and clawed at the pain. Without warning, it disappeared.

"Enjy," cried Harry and grabbed her leg. "It hujts."

It took a moment to regain herself. She sat up and looked at him. "Me too."

What the hell was that about?

* * *

"Mejjy Kjistmas," Harry said and handed Henry his stuffed dog. Henry laughed and gave him the wolf. Since they couldn't give each other anything else, switching them was the only thing they could do.

The door opened and Petunia sighed in resignation at the packages on the floor. "I hope it's more clothes," she muttered and unwrapped them. "Thank the Lord." She let the twins admire their new attires before taking them with her.

"I vant blue," decided Harry. "You have yewwow."

"Then I have blue." They shared clothes anyway; it didn't matter who wore what first.

"Hello lovelies," Mrs Figgs greeted them a while later. "Oh my, how adorable you look. Did you get any presents?"

Harry and Henry happily displayed themselves for her to see. They gladly followed her to her house where she immediately gave them snacks.

That night, Henry snuck outside to see if Sirius was watching over them. If he did, he didn't show himself. Defeated, she went back inside.

He didn't show up for New Year's Eve either.

 _New plan_ , Henry decided in February, after half a year of radio silence. She took Harry to the playground again.

"Will Iijus be heje?" the boy asked and helped push the swing.

"Hope," said Henry.

They played with the swing. Then they played with the climbing frame. The sun disappeared and Sirius didn't come. Defeated, they headed home, hand in hand, with gaping holes in their chests.

"Iijus mean," Harry pouted. "Why he no come?"

"Dunno." Hopefully nothing serious had happened. It wasn't impossible he'd been caught, but she didn't want to think about it. If he was, would the Dementors give him their kiss? She couldn't let that happen, but she was two and a half years old, what could she do?

They tried the same thing every day for a week. Sirius never returned. Disappointed beyond belief, they stayed in the backyard the next week, rolling a red ball between them.

"I miss Iijus."

She nodded in agreement and pushed the ball to him. It was too weak, so the ball stopped in the middle. Annoyed, she went to get it. Instead, the ball shot straight up and hovered at the height of their bedroom window.

 _What the hell?_ Was that accidental magic? Holy crap!

"Time for lunch, you ungrateful—" Vernon stopped at the sight. He turned a new shade of purple. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" he bellowed and went straight for them. Henry flinched and the ball fell back down. "YOU LITTLE MONSTER!"

"Enjy!" Harry cried as Vernon pulled her arm so hard something snapped. She screamed in pain. Vernon didn't care and dragged her to the cupboard where he locked her in.

"You're not coming out until you learn what you did wrong."

 _Oh God it hurts make it stop make it stop make it stop please make it stop,_ she cried silently, biting her lip so hard she tasted blood. Vernon wouldn't let her out if she kept crying.

Something warm moved from her chest to her shoulder. It stayed there until the hurt disappeared. Then the warmth faded. She laid on the floor, hugging her legs, until she fell asleep.

* * *

They were eating dinner a few evenings later. Henry silently glared holes in her broccoli, refusing to eat them. They had been disgusting in her past and they were disgusting now. Some things never changed.

"I hate them," she pouted, but only Harry heard her.

"Vant somesing else?"

"Carrots?"

Harry nodded. "Me too."

Their broccoli turned orange and changed into carrots. At first, everyone stared at their plates in silent disbelief. Then Vernon was screaming, Dudley was crying and Petunia shouted at Vernon to keep calm because _Vernon the neighbours will hear you_.

"I DON'T WANT THAT DISGUSTING THING IN MY HOUSE!" Vernon all but howled. He grabbed a fistful of Harry's hair. "You nasty _creature_!"

The sound of bone against table was something Henry had never heard before. She couldn't describe it as more than loud and both soft and hard. Harry's pained cry woke her from her petrification.

"STOP!" she screamed and threw her glass at the walrus because if he didn't Harry would die and he couldn't die and leave her alone in this world and with this family and he couldn't leave her alone with _Voldemort_ and—

She was on the floor. The world was spinning. Her head was burning. Her eyes were tearing. Her ears were ringing and had Vernon just slapped her?

_How DARE he?_

The warmth in her chest turned cold and expanded outside her body. It gathered around Vernon like thin, silvery threads and _pushed_. With a shriek not befitting of a human, he flew into the kitchen wall, through it and landed in the cupboard. Then he made no sound whatsoever.

Petunia, however, did.

_Shut up shut up shut up SHUT UP!_

The woman fell limply to the ground. Dudley screamed for her but she didn't stir. Henry hoped for everyone's sake she hadn't just murdered two people.

Quietly, she made way to where Harry was crying, holding his bleeding face with his hands.

"Is fine," she whispered, letting the now warm magic seep over his wounds. They closed.

"It _hujts_."

"I know." She turned and went to the phone to call the ambulance. When they arrived, they had to take a moment to survey the damage. Henry pointed at the cupboard and told them her uncle was inside. They should try to drag him out from the hole in the kitchen.

Obviously, her calm scared the living spirits out of them. One of them called the police. The twins were questioned, but they said they didn't understand what happened. One second they were eating dinner. The next Vernon was through the wall and Petunia had fainted. Dudley, however, kept screaming about broccoli-carrots and blood and flying through walls.

All three of them were left with Mrs Figgs after the EMTs determined they were fine. They didn't understand where the blood on the table came from, though.

Mrs Figgs was _not_ happy. She put the trio in the living room and left for two seconds. Dudley's blood curdling scream sent her back immediately. He had crawled into a corner and was crying and throwing pillows at the twins. They were curled up on the couch, staring at him in cold rage. Well, Henry was. Harry was pressing his face against her shoulder.

Mrs Figgs had never seen such disgust on a toddler's face before. It was terrifying. She sent word to Dumbledore immediately. Before midnight, she could see people move about on the street outside of Number Four before disappearing inside of it. Satisfied, the children would be taken care of, she went to sleep.

"Mjis Figgs?"

" _Merlin_ ," she cursed, nearly tripping over a cat. "Yes, dear?"

Henry walked out of the living room, where she and Harry were sleeping. "Vat weje the peopje doin in the house?"

She'd seen that? Sharp child. "Nothing much, dear. Probably the police taking another look at it."

"Vy?"

"Most likely to figure out what sent your uncle through the wall."

Henry noticed the woman stood very far away and wasn't attempting to pat her on the head. She used to do that. She wouldn't anymore.

"Don cajj him that," she murmured. "He's the monstej, not us."

"Monster?" Mrs Figgs asked, aghast. "He calls you that?"

She nodded before looking the woman right in the eye. She blinked in surprise at the primal fear she was met with. "Aje you okay?"

Mrs Figgs swallowed. "Of course, dear. I'm just—tired. A lot of things have happened today. Go to sleep, please."

Henry reluctantly did, not noticing how her suddenly black hair turned red once again. But Mrs Figgs saw. She also saw how her red eyes turned back to green. Hopefully Dumbledore gave them a new, more safe, home. Preferably with wizards this time.

* * *

Petunia was discharged the next day and Mrs Figgs returned the children before Petunia unlocked the door. The blond woman gave the twins a scared look before hurrying inside with Dudley. And screamed. Again.

The twins curiously followed her into the living room and kitchen. To their surprise, the wall was whole again. There wasn't anything left to suggest Vernon had gone through it.

"They _have_ to take you away now," mumbled Petunia, white in the face. "I refuse to have you in the house anymore."

Henry agreed. The faster Dumbledore got them out of here, the better. Their aunt helped them pack and put one measly trunk in the foyer. Then she made lunch for herself and Dudley. The twins sat in the small front yard, waiting for someone to come get them. After awhile, they got hungry. Petunia reluctantly gave them a sandwich each. Then they got to get their ball. When they got bored of that one, they played with their stuffed toys.

"Where _are_ they?" Petunia grumbled at six o'clock in the evening. The twins turned to look at her. "What? Don't stare like that! I don't know where they are."

"Wheje we goin now?" asked Henry.

"Well, not in here, that's for sure." She closed and locked the door.

Henry wished she at least gave them their stuff. Were they supposed to freeze to death? Sure, it was summer, but they were _two_.

"Gah!" they exclaimed and stared at the trunk at their feet.

"Was is dis?" asked Harry. "Fjying, bjoccoji-cajjots… Is scajy."

"Is magic."

"Magic?"

"Yes, mommy and daddy had it."

Harry frowned at that. He poked the trunk with his foot. "I vant home. I vant mommy and daddy."

Henry wanted anyone that wasn't the Dursleys at the moment. Even Snape had to be better than this.

They couldn't stay here anymore. Obviously Vernon wouldn't stop after he got back. With their accidental magic awakening, they weren't safe anymore. Vernon would try and punch the magic out of them and if they tried to protect themselves, they'd get in more trouble.

They had to leave.

"Togethej," said Henry and pulled the trunk's handle. Harry helped and they slowly began to make way across the silent neighbourhood. Where were they going? Beat them. Anywhere that wasn't getting them killed.

They dragged the trunk to the playground, where they stopped to rest. Harry complained about his throbbing arms. There was nothing to do about it, so Henry gave him a simple kiss on the forehead and let him rest for five more minutes before they kept going.

Somehow, they ended up on some kind of field. Henry vaguely remembered it from _the Order of the Phoenix_.

"No likey," whispered Harry. He still sat on the round carousel Henry didn't remember the name of.

"Sjeep heje," decided Henry and opened the trunk. Thank God for the blankets Petunia had packed. They snuggled up against each other and looked up at the night sky.

"Is big." Henry nodded. "Is always this big?"

"Yes."

"Enjy?" She looked at him. "Vy dey hujt us?"

She averted her gaze to the sky. How did you tell a two-year-old your own family was afraid of what you could do? She sighed. He had to know sooner or later, why not now? He wouldn't remember the conversation either way and he'd grow up thinking he always knew about it. She told him about Muggles and wizards and witches, about how scared Muggles were of the unknown, the unexplainable, and how Vernon and Petunia were just like that.

"But mommy vas a wiz."

"Uh-huh," replied Henry. "Petunia no likey mommy."

Harry turned to face her. "Aje ve monstej?"

She shook her head. The Dursleys and everyone like them were the real miscreations. They had a choice in whether to believe in the truth or not; the twins never had. They were born with it—why punish them for that? They couldn't help it.

Maybe Vernon knew about the obscurials? The magical world wouldn't let an obscurus be, let alone two. They'd be hunted and killed for sure if that happened. So no, they weren't about to suppress what was natural. She didn't want to die before turning ten.

"Enjy!" hissed Harry. "Was dat?" He pointed at something on the opposite end of the abandoned playground. It was a huge grey dog.

"Nyo!" Henry screamed. No one was hurting them again.

"Do not be afraid."

The magic welling up inside her subsided. The twins looked at the dog-turned-human and gaped.

"Who you?" Harry asked, moving in front of Henry. "Go away."

The stranger shook their head. Was it an Animagus? Auror? "What are you doing out here?" the man asked. "You should be in bed."

The twins glanced at each other before Henry spoke up. "Petunia think they take us away."

"Who?"

"The magicaj ones that made the wajj whoje again."

"Ah, I see. No, you are to be living with your relatives still." Henry's eyebrows nearly disappeared in the hairline. What the hell was wrong with these people? Hadn't they seen the extent of their accidental magic? The law dictated no Muggle was to be harmed by a witch or wizard—but if it was Harry and Henry, everything was apparently fine!

 _Dumbledore, what are you_ doing _?_

"I'll take that." The wizard picked up the trunk. "Now, I'll escort you back home."

"Not home," the twins said. He gave them an odd look in return.

"Very well. Let's return you to your aunt and uncle."

"Nyo, she jocked the dooj."

"I think I can handle that."

 _Yeah,_ Henry thought, unimpressed, _with Alohomora._

They grudgingly followed the man all the way back and watched as he magically unlocked the door. The stairs were silent as they made their way to the second floor. Henry suspected the wizard had performed a silent spell to conceal them and their movements.

"I leave this for your caretakers." The man put a letter on the dresser, tipped the freaky derby hat on his head and closed the door.

"I hate them," decided Henry. "Ajj of them."

Harry slowly nodded. He laid down in the crib and closed his eyes. "I'm tijed. Enjy, stojy pwease." And because she couldn't deny him anything, she told him about Hogwarts.

* * *

After waking up to Petunia's scream of terror, the twins gained a new routine in life. They avoided the Dursleys (especially Vernon when he got back) like all hell and weren't allowed to attend dinner anymore. They had their food delivered to their room.

Petunia once witnessed Henry turn a tuna sandwich (ew) into ice cream. She was punished by being locked in the cupboard for two hours. Harry was caught levitating his stuffed dog. Vernon got red with anger and ripped the thing apart.

"You are _monsters_ ," he seethed, dragging Harry downstairs to the cupboard. Henry followed and sat outside, trying to calm the crying boy. Her magic unlocked the door for them, but before they could celebrate, Vernon caught them and locked them both in there. They didn't get out until the next morning, when Petunia heard them cry for food.

Dudley turned three. Marge showed up again, with that same dog from last time. It came too close for Harry's comfort and he pushed it away. Wagging its tail, it jumped on him, nibbling his fingers playfully.

Scared, Harry cried for Henry. Her magic _snapped_.

Dogs aren't as sturdy as Vernon. Sending one flying through the window tended to get them severely hurt. In this case, mortally.

Henry had never seen so much blood. And she hadn't known what rage Marge hid behind her disgust for them.

 _Hurts,_ repeated in her mind while she lay motionless in the cupboard. _Fingers._ She couldn't feel them very well anymore. Marge had probably broken them when she slammed the door on them.

"Enjy, pwease," cried Harry outside, hugging her wolf. "Pwease."

She didn't have the strength to reply.

Of course she recovered. Her magic did wonders to the otherwise permanent damage on her body, never leaving a trace. Harry's magic never did anything when he was hurt, so it was up to her to patch him up whenever he was on the receiving end. If she got the chance, she wanted to become a healer. Then she could heal Harry whenever he got back from whatever trouble he got himself into.

"I don jike magic," Harry told her the day before their third birthday. "It makes Venon angjy." _And gets us hurt,_ Henry finished.

"You vanna know vat happens ven you stop using magic?"

"Yes pwease."

When a (mostly young) witch or wizard repressed their magic and stopped it from coming out, that created an obscurus. An obscurus was the manifestation of the repression. It was violent and volatile from what she remembered, and the children turned obscurial rarely lived long.

Harry didn't want to die. He promised both himself and Henry he wouldn't stop his magic from doing whatever it wanted.

"Sank you."

When they woke up the next day, there were three presents waiting for them. Petunia screamed herself hoarse when she went into their room (thank God Vernon had already gone to work). After making sure she wasn't about to faint, she carefully opened the presents. The one that wasn't wrapped like the others was a stuffed dog, identical to the one Vernon destroyed. In the second, there were more clothes. In the third, some toys.

"How did you get in here?" Petunia asked. "I locked the door!"

"Magicaj man opened it," said Henry defiantly. "Said we have to stay heje."

For once in their short relationship, the twins and Petunia mutually agreed that was the dumbest decision anyone could make.

* * *

They had already turned five the next time they saw Sirius again. They were in the field again, taking a walk to get away from, well, everyone, when he exited the forest surrounding it. He stopped wagging his tail when he saw their hollow expressions.

"Late," said Henry and turned her back. "You late."

Harry looked at her and then at Sirius. "Mean dog." He ran after her. Sirius followed them from a distance, worried. They obviously remembered him, so why weren't they happy he'd come back? Had he been gone for too long, so they thought him a stranger? He had to change that. He was here to stay now. Remus wasn't allowing anything less than Sirius checking up on them once every day.

The twins kept ignoring him. He wasn't there to take them away anyway. His presence annoyed Henry to hell and back. What was he doing disguised as a dog, disappearing and reappearing once every blue moon? Either he saved them from this hellhole or he disappeared completely.

Had he been this unreliable in the series?

Their lives continued. Sirius never tried entering the property. Henry was aware of the wards surrounding the place; had seen them since after her magic appeared. She wasn't about to experiment with them (that would get her killed), but she wanted to learn about them generally speaking. Maybe they could be useful against Voldemort and his followers.

One of the most odd experiences Henry had with accidental magic came the summer before their seventh birthday. She was leaning against a pillow with Harry's head in her lap, looking up at the cloudy sky. They were cloud gazing.

"Ice cjeam," demanded Harry. "Go get pwease."

"Can't." Henry poked his forehead. "You go." But Harry didn't want to move. It was too hot and he had no strength. Henry dumbly wished herself already in the kitchen (in hindsight it was a stupid thought) and what do you know, she found herself sprawled onto the kitchen floor a moment later.

Both Harry and Henry were thoroughly confused at first. Harry because apparently they could teleport, and Henry because she had no idea you could accidentally apparate. But it wasn't impossible, she supposed. Intent and focus seemed to be the key to using magic, and she _had_ been focusing on the kitchen, wanting to get there so she could have some ice cream.

She was lucky she hadn't splinched herself into oblivion, though. Best keep the apparating to a minimum. Like, no more until she got her license. In ten years. Woho.

School was the worst. Dudley gathered a following of easily manipulated children and had them chasing the twins around the playground. They started doing so a month into their first year, when they had been branded the odd ones out. After two years, they had mastered the abilities to run like hell and hide. Except there was no hiding in Number Four. At least they had Henry's magic to fix their broken bones and bruised bodies.

"I hope the letters come soon," Harry whispered from their hiding place one day after they turned eight. "I wanna leave."

"Soon," Henry said, though a little less than three years didn't sound like soon even in her ears.

"I wanna learn magic. I wanna make Dudley hurt." Henry had to once again warn him that was against the law. Grumpily, Harry asked how she knew that.

"I remember," was her reply.

He nodded, a knowing expression on his face. "The book called it photographic memory." It was a good cover for her otherwise inexplicable knowledge. Though she didn't have a real eidetic memory, her memories were clearer than they used to be, which she found strange but not important enough to investigate. It probably had to do with both magic and the fact her mind was that of a twenty-one-year-old's. Or maybe she should say twenty-eight-year-old.

Sirius was still around. He followed them to school and kept guard outside the property. They still largely ignored him, not having forgiven him for abandoning them. But they did feed and cuddle him sometimes, when the weight of school and home became too much.

"Has he really been with us since we were one?" asked Harry, looking at the black dog.

"Yeah. I remember him from that night." He didn't need clarification. They both knew what she was talking about.

"Do you remember mum and dad?"

"No," she said quietly, thinking back to the only memory of Lily she had. "Only when Voldemort came."

"Glad he's gone."

 _But not forever._ If only she had access to Diagon Alley. They could raid the library she hoped they had and learn as much magic as possible before even stepping foot in Hogwarts. That would save them from having to focus on grades, too. They could dedicate all their time in figuring out how to get rid of Quirrell and Voldemort before the end of book one. Henry wanted a quiet school year, thank you very much. Harry wanted to learn magic in peace. Because magic fascinated him. He could do so much cool stuff like no one else could. Where was the limit? What was impossible even for them? How many branches of magic were there? According to Henry, there were loads. He wanted to learn them all.

"That's the bell," said Henry and stood. "Let's go."

* * *

Dudley's eleventh birthday began with Petunia chasing the twins down the stairs. There they were forced to make Dudley's favourite breakfast (which should have given him diabetes long ago) before he came down. Much like in the book, Dudley raged on and on about getting one less present than last year. Henry was more concerned how his parents could afford all of those things.

The phone rang. Petunia complained about who was calling so early in the morning and went to get it. That's when Henry remembered Mrs Figgs. _Crap._ The woman had broken her leg!

"Drat," she whispered.

"What?" asked Harry.

She shook her head and glanced at Vernon and Dudley. "Mrs Figgs broke her leg tripping over a cat."

Harry sighed, having long since accepted Henry was some kind of prophet. "What does that mean for us?" She quickly explained they might have to go to the zoo with them. He grimaced. "I'd rather not. No offence to the animals, but who'd wanna go there with _them_?" He looked at Dudley. "He should move in with the apes, though…"

Henry tried very hard not to laugh. Dudley was a bit like a monkey, wasn't he?

Petunia returned with a frown on her face. "Mrs Figgs broke her leg," she stated. "She can't take the twins."

Dudley stopped eating and gaped at her. "What? No! I don't want them with us—they'll ruin my birthday!" He looked ready to cry. Henry rolled her eyes when she was sure no one was looking. Harry smiled in agreement.

"You don't have to," he said carefully, all eyes landing on him. Henry inwardly winced. It'd be a miracle is he convinced them now, when he couldn't do it in the book.

Vernon scoffed. "And leave you two alone to wreak havoc? I don't think so."

"We have good control now," Harry muttered. "Hasn't been any strange incidents as of late, has it?"

"You can break the TV without that strangeness about you."

 _Geez, thanks._ "So can Dudley." She said it a little too loud.

Vernon leveled her with an angry glare. "Shut up or I'll lock you in the cupboard until we get back." He nodded proudly at how her hair and eyes and even skin paled.

Harry grabbed her hand. "Breathe," he whispered. Slowly, her colours returned to normal. "Even if we accidentally break something, it'll go back to its normal state before tomorrow." It always did. Henry said people from the Ministry of Magic called Aurors came and fixed it. He didn't like that they came to fix what they broke but never bothered to check up on them. If they had, they'd know what kind of life they lived and take them away.

"No strange people are entering this house ever again!" bellowed Vernon. The twins flinched.

" _No_!" came Dudley's desperate cry. "We can't take them! I don't want them there!"

The doorbell ringing signalled the end of the discussion. "All three of you, behave," Vernon warned them. Petunia went to greet Piers Polkiss (what a name) and his parents.

Piers greeted Dudley with a wide grin and ridiculous handshake. "This is for you, hope you like it," he said and handed their cousin his present. He then turned to eye the twins. They gave each other a look and tried sneaking away. "Henry."

Her skin crawled. No one called her that except Harry. "Yes?"

"When's your birthday?"

She gaped. "What? July 31st, why?"

Harry grabbed the back of her shirt and glared at the boy. Who was he trying to befriend his sister out of nowhere? Just last week he was dead set on throwing rocks at them.

"That's a nice day."

The twins stared at him. What the heck had he eaten for breakfast? "Are you alright, Piers?" asked Henry. "You seem… odd."

The boy blushed. "Nothing's wrong. I just… I was just wondering."

Dudley walked up to him. "Let's go to the car." He gave the twins a warning stare before disappearing into the foyer.

"You two too," grumbled Vernon and shoved them out of the room. Since Henry was a tiny bit scrawnier than Harry, she was forced to sit between Dudley and Piers. Harry landed himself in the luggage compartment.

"What's your favourite colour?" asked Piers.

"Uh. Green." She didn't really have a preference, it was more about shades. "Why?"

"Just asking." He blushed hard under her confused scowl.

They spilled out of the car a while later and Henry retreated back to Harry's side. The Dursleys regretfully paid for the twins before stopping at a stand selling ice cream. Before they could hurry away, the girl behind the cash register asked what the twins wanted. They got something cheap. Not that they complained; they appreciated whatever they got.

Carefully, they hung back from the Dursleys and Piers until they disappeared in the crowd. The twins followed the blue route to see tigers, tortoises and komodo dragons, to name a few. Henry didn't remember when in the book Harry had gotten to the reptiles, but she decided the safest option was to delay the visit for as long as possible. Now that they were here, they might as well test their Parseltongue, but she didn't want to get locked in the cupboard for it.

The tigers were beautiful. Their furr looked soft and inviting. The way they stalked around the enclosure not so much. Her favourites were the tortoises. There was something in the way they calmly walked around and retreated into their shells that melted her heart.

Harry liked the camels more.

"Why can't we see the reptiles?" he asked when Henry pulled him to a stop.

"Just… not right now."

He sighed, but agreed. "Let's take another look at the komodo dragon." It's name was Gana and it was much bigger than either of them had expected. It wasn't much entertainment though, and they got bored pretty much immediately.

"Let's go then," sighed Henry and turned. And walked right into someone. "I'm so sorry!"

"Me too." The stranger helped her regain her footing. "Are you alright?"

"Um, yeah, sure…" She moved out of range, rubbing her arms where the boy had held her. Her skin was crawling. She looked up to thank him. Her words died on her lips when she saw his red hair and all too familiar face. What the heck were the Weasleys doing here?

"Fred?" called another familiar voice, but Henry couldn't get herself from tearing her gaze from _Fred Weasley_. He was real. He was actually real.

"Wow," he breathed, a hand reaching for her scar.

"Fred!" She winced and backed into Harry, who threw his arms protectively against her. "Come on… _George_!"

"Huh? What?" The boy blinked once before turning to his twin. "You said something, Fred?"

He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "If you could stop gazing lovingly into her eyes or whatever and get going… Mum'll think we're up to something if we disappear."

George grinned. "But aren't we always?"

"Not today." Fred walked up to them. "Wow, nice scars you have."

"Um. Thanks," mumbled Henry and averted her whole body. Harry hugged her tighter. "Thanks for catching me."

"Of course! Who wouldn't catch a beautiful fairy like you?"

Harry groaned. "That was the _worst_ thing I've ever heard. Ew, go away. We're too young for you anyway."

"Oh yeah? How young?" George was still smiling, but his worried eyes didn't leave Henry.

"Ten. We're turning eleven soon."

"Ooh, congrats. We're thirteen."

Fred gave them a wide grin before dragging his brother with him. "Nice to meet you, but we gotta go. Happy early birthday!"

"Hey!" George called. "What's your names?"

"Harry and Henry," replied Harry. "You figure out who's who."

The Weasley twins disappeared behind a corner. Henry took a deep breath and left Harry's embrace. Looking at the clock, they headed for the reptile house, where the boa constrictor was lazing around. It didn't acknowledge their existence, but that was fine with them. They had other things to think about.

"Is there a reason your hair turned the same shade of red as theirs?" Harry asked gently, leaning against his sister.

"Because I wasn't expecting to be run over by someone."

"I would believe you," said Harry with a sly grin, "if it wasn't for the recognition on your face when you saw that George person."

 _Drat._ "Yeah yeah, they're—" she glanced around them "—wizards. Happy now?"

"Yep! So, they come from your dreams as well?"

"Uh-huh. Oh, look, the snake is moving! _Hi sssnake, nice to meet you._ " Harry made a strangled sound. "What?"

"You just hissed at it. Why would you hiss at it?" he asked.

Henry gave a nervous giggle. "It's called Parseltongue. We got it from—" Another look around the room "—Voldemort."

"Of course we did." He heaved a heavy sigh. "So, I can do it too?" He glanced at the snake. They weren't exactly the nicest creatures to look at and he didn't like them at all. The ability to speak their language was a waste on him.

"Yeah, but I don't know how. I wasn't aware I was speaking it."

Rather than that, Harry wanted to know why the ability to speak to snakes had transferred from Voldemort to them. And why it existed in the first place. Why not speak to owls? Henry said they were one of the most common pets in wizarding households.

" _Are you both ssspeakersss?"_ came a slithery voice not meant to speak human languages. The twins looked at the boa in silent disbelief. " _Can you underssstand me?"_

" _We can,"_ assured Henry, weirded out by the odd tone of her voice. " _You are a very pretty sssnake."_

" _Thank you, ssspeaker."_ It turned to look at Harry. " _Good day to you too."_

" _Hello,"_ he murmured. " _Oh wow, I really_ can _ssspeak it! Hey, Mr or Mrs Sssnake, have you been here long?"_

" _All my life,"_ it replied and pointed with its tail on a sign. **[** **Bred in captivity]** , it said.

" _Oh."_ He wasn't too keen on speaking to it anymore, feeling like he'd offended it. " _I apologissse."_

The snake was about to say something else, but turned its attention to something behind them. They followed suit and moved out of Dudley's way. Piers was right behind him.

"I've been waiting for it to do something!" exclaimed their cousin, pressing his hands against the protective glass. "Of course it wouldn't do anything until _you_ came." The twins leveled him with a nasty glare each.

Piers coughed. "We didn't see you before," he said meekly. "Were you lost?"

"Oh, yes," lied Henry. "But it's fine, we got help from another set of twins and found our way here."

"Fabulous. We've had a nice wandering ourselves."

Henry gave him the fakest smile she had. "Glad to hear…" She gripped Harry's hand tightly, reminding him not to do anything stupid and landing them in trouble. She wouldn't let accidental magic ruin an otherwise all right day.

Dudley gawked at the poor boa constrictor for a few more moments. It didn't do anything more than laying down to ignore him, though, and he quickly tired. "Let's go see the lions."

"How about it? Would you like to—"

"Ew, Piers, don't tell me you have a crush on _Henrietta_ ," Dudley interrupted the other boy. He blushed hard. "That's so disgusting."

"No, of course not! I'm just trying to be nice."

"Wasted on them. Come on." Piers bitterly followed, but not before glancing at Henry once more.

"He doesn't even try to hide it," Harry said in the same disgusted tone as Dudley. He would forever deny the similarity.

"Don't say it."

"He's got a crush on you. Dudley's thick of he can't figure that out."

Henry groaned and turned to face the snake again. " _Please_ stop. I don't want Piers running after me. And not like he'll try anything with it, not with Duddikins towering over him." She was right of course.

"Well, we're going to Hogwarts soon anyway, so it doesn't matter. We won't see him again."

"Except during summer."

"Ugh," he said with a grimace. "Better start jogging then. Can't have then outrun us."

" _Do you know thossse children, ssspeakersss?"_ asked the snake curiously.

" _Unfortunately. The big one isss our cousssin."_ Henry snuck a glance over her shoulder, but they had already left. " _I have a quessstion for you, sssnake."_

" _Oh? Then tell me, ssspeaker."_

" _Ever heard of Hogwartsss?"_

The snake hadn't. She quickly explained what it was and their circumstances surrounding it. Harry gave her a look she ignored. If he knew what she was about to ask, he'd refuse.

" _Would you like to come with usss?"_

" _WHAT?"_ Harry exclaimed in horror. A snake following them everywhere they went? Never! It was enough he had nightmares about them—he didn't need them to plague him during daytime too.

" _Your brother doesssn't sssem very happy about that,"_ the snake mused. " _But thank you for the offer."_

" _Don't mind him, he'll come around. What do you sssay?"_

The snake cocked its head to the side. " _What doesss that mean for me?"_

" _You can sssleep anywhere in the cassstle you want, asss long asss you're not dissscovered,"_ she stated, making things up as she went. " _I jussst want sssomeone that can easssily move around to be my eyesss and earsss."_

" _Will you feed me?"_

" _What do you eat and how often do you eat it?"_

" _They feed me rodentsss. I eat at least once a week, or when I'm hungry."_

She was glad if she didn't have to feed it neither dead nor live rodents, but if that was what it took to get it to come with them, then so be it. " _Alright, I can do that."_

" _Thank you, ssspeaker. How will you get me out?"_

Harry cursed the Cheshire grin on Henry's face. "Don't even think about it!" It wasn't fair how she was allowed to do magic when he wasn't.

As if reading his thoughts, Henry chuckled and said, "I'm thinking of our future, you know. You just wanted revenge."

Was there anything wrong with that?

Henry told the snake to wait a bit until they got to a safe distance. They pretended like they were deciding on their next location when Henry forcefully Vanished the protective glass. The snake curiously peered over the railing and quickly slid over it.

The first to scream was a middle-aged man. It was hilarious hearing how high his voice could go. Having to pretend to evacuate? Not so much. They hid behind a large fake tree until the room was empty. The boa happily made a home for itself in Henry's backpack (never say she didn't come prepared) and lay completely still when they stealthily snuck away.

"That was impressive."  
"Herrejävlar," exclaimed Henry. Harry nearly jumped out of his shoes. "You scared us!" She glowered at a grinning George. "What are you doing here?"

He pointedly looked at her bag. "I was enjoying the sight of some axolotls when I heard the commotion. Fred managed to get mum and the others away while I checked it out. Imagine my surprise when I see you smuggle a giant snake out of the zoo."

Henry blushed from embarrassment and looked at her shoes. Of course George Weasley had to catch them in the act. "Please don't tell anyone."

Harry, who was thinking of the cupboard, quickly agreed. "We just didn't want it to be stuck in there forever."

George blinked in surprise. "I'm not telling anyone, scouts honour." He laughed his own—joke? "But do you think it'll survive here in London?"

"Of course not, we're going to—" Henry elbowed him not so subtly in the ribs. " _Ugh_ , that hurts!"

"Ah, sibling love. You're twins too, right?" They nodded. "Sweet. Don't see much of those around—anywhere, really. So I'm not telling anyone, but I do worry about the snake. Will you be able to properly care for it?"

It could live in the Forbidden Forest and the castle itself. But she couldn't very well tell him that.

"Yes. There's a forest not too far away from where we live," she explained. There were a lot of rodents there, so the snake wouldn't starve.

"What about winter?"

"Vernon and Petunia rarely look through our room," Harry thought aloud. "If we hide it in the drawer whenever they come, it'll all be fine."

George didn't look the slightest convinced. "Have you ever heard of Hogwarts before?"

They were so caught by surprise Henry didn't even think to stop Harry from saying, "We do."

 _Harry! No!_ She grimaced at George's surprised look.

"You do?" he asked. "Wasn't expecting that."

Harry, realising his mistake, turned to Henry for guidance. She sighed. "I have vague memories of mum and dad talking about it."

"There you are!" The twins shrank at the sound of Vernon's loud voice. "Don't tell me you were the cause of this—" He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of George. "You're not one of _them_ , are you?"

George frowned in confusion. "Who?"

"It wasn't us," Harry quickly said, taking Vernon's attention from the wizard. "We had just left when people began screaming. So we ran out here without looking back."

"They asked me if I knew what happened," George interjected without missing a beat. "A snake escaped its enclosure."

"What?" Vernon paled. "In that case we have to leave immediately." He gave George one last scrutinising look. "You really _are_ normal then?"

Again, George looked at him in utter confusion before his mouth went O. He looked at the twins in a new light. "Well sir, that depends on. I have a twin, so I wouldn't say we are."

Vernon scoffed. "I've had enough of twins for a lifetime. Off we go, you two."

Harry and Henry mouthed a _thank you_ to George and hurried after him. Harry took the backpack with the boa with him in the luggage. The ride home was over as soon as it started and they were inside their room in a moment.

" _Am I to ssstay here until departure?"_ asked the snake after they set it free. It curled around itself onto the bed.

" _That or we sneak you out onto the field. It's abandoned so no one but us goes there."_ And Sirius, because he kept following them everywhere.

" _How long until we leave?"_

" _A month, on September 1st,"_ replied Henry.

The snake sighed. " _Please let me out on the field in the meantime."_

* * *

The day the letters arrived started out like any normal day. Petunia woke them up early and while everyone else prepared themselves for the day, they made breakfast. Vernon commented on the lovely weather when the mail arrived through the letter box.

"Dudley, go get the mail," said Vernon without looking up from the newspaper.

"Why? Make Harry do it."

"Harry, get the mail."

"Why? I'm making breakfast." He ducked into the hallway to get away from Vernon's angry eyes. There wasn't anything unusual at first. Bills, bills, postcard from Marge, bills… and two letters addressed to Harry and Henry. He blinked, not expecting it, before grinning widely and hiding them underneath the doormat.

"What took you so long?" asked Vernon.

"I dropped them." He went back to Henry and whispered, "They arrived." She carefully continued washing the dishes.

They were excused and tried hard to appear normal. Harry quickly took the letters with him and they locked themselves in their bedroom.

"I can't believe it," Harry said in awe. "I mean… you always spoke about it, and we do magic, so of course we'll go to a school for magical children, but… Some part of me didn't believe it."

"Yeah. I've been waiting for this for years." A decade, actually. It was the longest decade in her life. But finally it was over. Finally, they were going to Hogwarts. Soon the plot started rolling for real and she had to juggle about four things simultaneously at all times.

"I don't dare to open it." Harry gave her a nervous smile. "What if it's one of Dudley's jokes?"

She shook her head. Dudley didn't know the Hogwarts sigill; it was impossible for him to recreate what served to seal the letters.

She opened it. Harry quickly followed suit. Together, they read the contents out loud:

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,**

**Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**

_**Dear Mr/Ms. Potter,** _

_**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.** _

_**Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.** _

_**Yours sincerely,** _

_**Minerva McGonagall** _

**Deputy Headmistress**

"Good God Almighty." He laughed nervously. "We have to owl them… how?" Henry went to look out the window and pointed at the waiting barn owl. "I see. How do we reply?"

"Pen and paper have to do."

They opened the window to let the owl in. It had something cylindrical fastened to its back. Henry opened it and put the letters inside. The owl hooted once before flying away.

"What do we do now?"

She grinned. "Find a way to get to London."


	3. Digaon Alley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sincerely hope Harry and Henry are less OP than in the original. I mean, they're probably still OP in a (study-related) sense... Don't worry, you'll get what I mean as soon as they get to Hogwarts.

_** Warning: ** _ **mentions of abuse again.**

Harry held up his new clothes so Henry could see them. First was a pair of jeans, then grey sweatpants. He got a new set of pajamas too, as well as a black t-shirt and white long-sleeved shirt. And a new pair of glasses. Dudley had broken the old ones by punching him in the face the other day.

Henry (who was fortunate enough not to need glasses), grinned at the grey skirt and yellow t-shirt in her lap. They had no prints on them, which was what she liked best. There was a summer dress too, which she wanted to wear immediately. Sirius had to be the one that sent them the presents. Maybe Remus too, if they were lucky. She had a hard time thinking of a reason for anyone else to magically break in and leave them stuff at night.

The Dursleys were going to London today. The twins were supposed to stay with Mrs Figgs, but she had agreed on calling in sick when they showed her their letters. Petunia looked like she'd swallowed a lemon after taking the call. Vernon cursed vehemently but sighed in defeat and let them in the car with a stern warning.

"I don't want you to do anything strange or dangerous, understood? If you do, I'll lock you up for a week." How he thought to accomplish that when they were starting school the day after was beyond their understanding.

It took an hour before the twins managed to discreetly separate themselves from the Dursleys. Then came the real challenge. Henry didn't remember where in London the Leaky Cauldron stood. It could be here and it could be on the other side. They were looking for a sign with its name as well as any oddly dressed individuals. If they stumbled upon witches or wizards they could point them in the right direction.

"Sirius," whispered Henry. He was standing between two buildings, excitedly wagging his tail.

"Of course," Harry grinned. "Finally we have some use of him." They followed the wizard-turned-dog for almost two hours before they reached the magical inn.

"Good day," Tom the bartender greeted them. "Oh, by Merlin's beard."

"Goodbye," Harry quickly replied and pushed Henry after Sirius. "How do we get past this?" He looked at the brick wall.

"Do you need help?"

They looked at the bartender. "Yes please."

"Are you perchance the Potter twins?" he asked and opened the wall for them. "Remember the combination."

"Thank you." They rushed through without confirming their identity. Rude, of course, but they didn't want people to know. Their scars weren't easy to hide, but at least they could run if they didn't want to answer.

The lively alley was distracting. People in colourful attires walked around with baskets and talked animatedly. The twins held each other's hands hard and prayed to whatever deity existed they weren't noticed.

"Where first?" whispered Harry, pressing himself as close to Henry as physically possible.

"Gringotts." They needed money to pay for everything. Sirius nodded and immediately led the way.

Gringotts was as crooked as she remembered. If it hadn't been for the magic, it had been a miracle the columns held at all. As it was, they went inside after Harry, baffled, commented on the architecture.

"It's the only bank in wizarding Britain," Henry murmured.

"What can I do for you, dear customers?" asked a goblin that looked particularly mean to Harry.

"We're here for our vault, sir," Henry said. "For Mr and Miss Potter."

The goblin looked at their scars for a moment before nodding. "Of course. Follow me." This hadn't happened in the book. The trio curiously followed the nameless goblin to an office, where he put a piece of parchment and a needle in front of them. "I need you to give some blood. It's to see if you truly are who you say you are."

"Alright," Henry said and took the needle. They were quite famous _and_ rich, of course there would be safety measures.

Pricking her finger didn't hurt that much. She pressed her thumb on the parchment and saw the red blood turn golden. It branched upwards like a tree, revealing her and Harry's names, together with James and Lily's and James' parents.

"Your turn," the goblin told Harry. The same thing occurred, which pleased the creature. "Perfect. Please excuse the precautions, Mr and Miss Potter." They nodded. "So, here is your family's vault, vault number 687. Would you like to visit it?"

"Yes please, we'd like to withdraw some money." How much did you need for school supplies? The goblin gladly helped them calculate it and wished them a good day.

"What was that about?" asked Harry as they left the building. "He went from grumpy to… less grumpy."

"Because we're valuable customers." Sirius nodded in agreement.

"Sure… that or our money. So, where next?"

"Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions." Today was the day Harry originally went to Diagon Alley, which meant Draco was already there. After much debate, Henry had figured why not go meet the prat and see where it went? If they didn't completely despise each other by the end of it, she might have some use of him.

And she had had a soft spot for him growing up, but that was secondary. She couldn't save everyone.

The dress store was full of clothes and fabrics alike, in all kinds of colour combinations. There were robes not even Molly Weasley would approve off (lavender with bright yellow and red in a checkers pattern? _Really_?), formal robes and normal robes. Thankfully there wasn't much activity so early in the day.

Animals weren't allowed inside, so Sirius waited outside.

"Hello dears," a young witch greeted them. "Here for school robes?"

"Uh, sure," Harry replied.

"Fabulous. Which one of you wants to go first?"

The twins had a silent conversation in which Harry won. He excused himself and began wandering the store. Henry sighed mournfully and followed the witch to the circular platform in the back. And promptly dropped her jaw at the sight of Draco Malfoy. He looked exactly like a young Tom Felton. He was looking at the ceiling, incredibly bored, and didn't notice when she took a place beside her.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," the witch said and placed a warm hand on Henry's arm. Henry slapped it away and tumbled to the ground.

_Disgusting disgusting disgusting_ ran on repeat in her head. She stared at the surprised witch and said, "Don't touch me," rather rudely. Draco glanced her way, but she ignored him.

"Very well, I apologise." The witch gave her a kind smile and gestured for her to stand back up. "But I need you to take off the hoodie. The measurements won't be right if you wear something that baggy."

Henry pulled it over her head without a word. Relief coursed through her at the sight of the now moving tools. The witch gave her a last smile before vanishing, leaving her alone with Draco and his assistant.

"Are you… alright?" asked the boy in genuine concern.

"Pardon?"

He nodded at her. "Your face, it's… odd."

She raised an eyebrow, which made him flustered. "Should I comment on your ridiculous hair then?"

"It's not ridiculous! It's fashionable."

She snorted. "I noticed magical people aren't really up to modern standards, so sorry for doubting you."

Red spots of embarrassment made it look like he had the measles. "How rude! And what, you're a Mudblood?"

She showed him her most evil grin. He flinched. "Now now, that's quite rude of you. You haven't even introduced yourself."

"That's… true. Well then, I'm Draco Malfoy. And you?"

"Henrietta Potter."

Draco's jaw dropped and the witch stopped measuring him. "Excuse me?" he asked. "As in the Girl-Who-Lived?" Henry nodded and watched in satisfaction how he went white underneath all that blush. "I… I…"

"So no, I'm not a Muggleborn," she interrupted him, "but my mother was. If you don't have anything decent to say, please shut up."

Draco's assistant finished a moment later. He gave her a last regretful look before leaving. Harry took his place. The witch, having witnessed Henry's reluctance of physical contact, asked if he wanted her to charm the tools. The ordeal didn't take more than fifteen minutes.

While they followed Sirius to get a cauldron and phials, Harry asked Henry who the boy from the store was. "I saw him exiting. He looked at me rather regretfully."

"Draco Malfoy," she replied.

"Oh. What's a Pureblood doing talking to us?" She had long ago explained the intricacies of magical blood politics.

Sirius barked and looked at them from over the shoulder.

"Sorry Sirius," said Henrietta absentmindedly.

They got their Potions equipment, as well as a telescope and a set of brass scales each. They entered the bookstore without Sirius (again, no animals allowed) and quickly decided they wanted their own library someday. After finding the course literature, they wandered around the store to find other interesting titles. There were a few fairy tales they discussed if they should buy. _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ was Henry's pick. _Tales of Ages Past_ was Harry's.

"Never heard of," said Henry and took the book, reading the summary. It appeared to be a collection of older, darker fairy tales. "It's like the Grimm brothers."

"I thought so too. Do we have enough for both?"

They did. They had taken a bit more money than necessary, in case they needed to buy lunch—or stuff like this.

A hand grabbed Henry's shoulder. She forced herself to stay stiff as a statue. Harry looked behind them to glare at the rude stranger, only to roll his eyes.

"Weasley."

"Harry!" one of the Weasley twins greeted. "Nice to meet you again. I _knew_ you'd come here."

"Let go of my sister's shoulder."

The boy did, giving them a look of surprise. Henry fervently rubbed the spot he'd touched. "You alright there, Henry?"

"Yes, yes I'm fine."

"Uh. I'm sorry?" He nervously dragged his hand through his flaming hair. "I won't do that again, promise. So, buying books for first year?"

"Yep," said Harry and showed him his stack of books. "And you?"

"Third year." He nodded at the cash register. "Only some of them, though. Wizards never think to update their school books, so we still use the ones Bill had."

"Who?"

"Their brother," Henry replied before biting her tongue.

The Weasley twin raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Why, yes, that's correct. How'd you know?"

"Looked through the register," she muttered, looking at the very fascinating stack of books to her left.

Harry quickly joined in on the lie. "We've lived with Muggles our whole lives," he explained, "so we decided to check out the library now that we're here."

"I see!" The boy grinned. "But hm, Muggles? You're Muggleborn?"

"Halfblood," Harry corrected. "Our dad was Pureblood and mum a Muggleborn."

"Oho, don't see that everyday. I'm George Weasley, by the way. I never properly introduced myself."

"You didn't do that at all," Harry pointed out. "I'm Harry Potter, this is Henry."

"Henrietta Potter," she clarified.

"Wait, as in the Twins-Who-Lived?" Harry frowned and glanced at Henry. She gave a tired smile and nodded. "Sweet! Wait until I tell mum about this, she'll go through the roof. What House do you think you'll be sorted in?"

"Beats me. As long as I'm with Henry, I don't care."

"You might want to prepare for otherwise. Just because you're twins doesn't mean you'll be Sorted the same."

"What about you?" asked Harry curiously. "You have a twin too, right?"

"Ah, Fred. Yes, we're in Gryffindor. We're… special though." He didn't elaborate.

"If you say so." They stood in awkward silence for a moment. "Alright, we have to go. Hope we'll see you in Hogwarts," Harry said and dragged Henry out of the store. "That was horrible."

"You like him," replied Henry in surprise.

"You think?"

"Why else would you be so happy?"

Harry pouted. "Because he's nice." He gave a small smile at Henry's giggle. "So, where do we go now?"  
"Ollivanders. We need wands." She looked at Sirius. "You coming?" He wagged his tail excitedly and ran up to the front to lead the way.

There were much more people outside now. The clock should be around lunch time, so it was expected, but that didn't mean the twins liked it. They held hands tightly and weaved between people best they could. Henry almost missed the pet store. Thanks to motion in the window, she looked to catch what it was and stopped dead in her tracks. Hedwig! How could she have forgotten Harry's trusted animal companion?

Without explanation, she rushed inside. Sirius walked up to Harry and looked at him. The boy only shrugged.

"What's gotten into you?" he asked when Henry came back with a snow white owl. "Do we need that one?"

"Of course, who else will bring us mail?"

"What mail? We have no one to send us anything!" He sighed. "Whatever. It's pretty."

"She is, isn't she? Consider it a joint birthday present."

He glanced at the owl. It was looking at him curiously. "Can we name her Hedwig?"

"But of course!"

The inside of Ollivanders was dark and stuffy and smelled of ink and wood. It would have been cozy if it hadn't been so dusty and cramped. Every shelf was filled to the brim with wand boxes, dark and rectangular. Every shelf was filled to the brim with black, rectangular boxes.

Hedwig's cage was placed on the floor by the cash register. No one showed up so Harry sat down and leaned against the black wood.

Something was tugging at Henry's chest. Since Ollivander was nowhere to be seen, she followed the strange feeling deeper into the store. It was far bigger than she expected and soon the noise from the entrance quieted down and disappeared.

It smelled strongly of wood here. It got so bad a headache bloomed behind her eyes. Row after row of wands she walked past, and she excitedly wondered which would be hers. She hadn't taken the test on Pottermore, but she _had_ taken the Patronus and House Sorting tests. She'd been a Hufflepuff. Would she find herself with the Badgers? Or with the same Patronus? She _was_ fundamentally different from her past self, a girl she could barely remember anymore, but if she was lucky, her Patronus remained the same.

She stopped in front of an unassuming shelf. Her hand reached for the boxes and gradually the tugging intensified until she pulled the only glowing one out. As soon as she held the black thing in her hands, the feeling disappeared. She was about to open the box when a pair of old hands clasped around hers. She screamed.

"Hush now, my dear, or I'll go deaf," said Ollivander with a smile. "I see you've found a wand you fancy. Let's see if we can find some more." Without another word, he disappeared with the box. Confused, Henry went back to a worried Harry.

"What in the world was that?" he asked.

"He surprised me, is all."

" _Who_?"

"Ah, two young customers. Fabulous." He spread the wand boxes on the counter. "Let's start with Ms Potter. Don't be shy, of course I know who you are. Most curious, that scar you have. Curious, but beautiful."

The scars were symbols of death. She supposed it could be beautiful. When you weren't murdered.

Ollivander gave them a secretive smile and looked at the door. "He's allowed inside, you know." At their wary expressions, he added, "The dog, I mean. There's no reason to keep him waiting."

They shared an uneasy look before Harry let Sirius inside. The dog suspiciously sniffed the air before settling between the twins. Henry began to absentmindedly scratch his head.

Thereafter followed the same explanation from the book about wands choosing their partners and not vice versa before he got down to business. "Let's start with this one," he said and offered Henry a ten inch long chestnut wand with a dragon core. Nothing happened. "Hm, curious indeed… Next one."

The unicorn core matched with rowan shot electricity up her arm. The hawthorn wand sent a shelf into oblivion. Red Oak wasn't an option at all; Ollivander held one out but before Henry could take it, he put it back in its box muttering about "not wanting to die today."

With every rejected wand, the twins and Sirius eyed each other in worry. If it took this long to find Henry a wand, what would happen when they came to Harry? Ollivander on the other hand was having the time of his life. He whispered about "tricky customers" with a smile.

Finally Ollivander opened the box she'd taken. The wand he presented her made everyone's jaws drop. Henry took it and gasped. A warm, familiar feeling seeped from the wood and into her body, coating her in love and security. A quiet voice whispered something inaudible in her ear. She didn't recognise it.

Harry wiped her tear-streaked cheek. "Henry? What's wrong?" he asked gently. "Why are you crying?"

"I… I don't know." She rubbed her eyes with one hand and patted Sirius whining form with the other. "It felt so sad." She looked at Ollivander. "What did the wand do to me?"

The man was full-on grinning. "The wand didn't do anything more than accept you, my dear. Do you know what it's made of?" He leaned against the counter when she shook her head. "Phoenix core, twelve inches… and elder."

_If I stole Harry's wand…_ went through her mind before she remembered it was made from holly. Thank God she hadn't turned into one of those OP original characters from fanfics that stole Harry's spot. She may be his twin but she had no illusion about taking his fame and place as the Chosen One. He could gladly keep them.

"Elder wands are rare, my girl. They're said to be deeply unlucky and the hardest to master. It takes a highly unusual person to find their perfect match in elder, you see. Whenever this occurs, the master is certain to be marked for a special destiny," continued Ollivander and brought her back to reality.

She nodded and gave the wand a sceptical once-over. What a wand indeed. She'd never seen anything fancier. It changed colours from pink to purple to blue. The holster was white and, except for the intricate carvings, smooth and painted with small elderberries in black, blue and dark purple. It looked nothing like the wands described in the books or shown in the movies. It honestly looked fake.

"Can I really have this?" she asked.

"Why wouldn't you? The wand chose you as its companion."

"It's— I mean… I'm not that special." Again, Harry was the Chosen One, she had just hiked a ride on his journey. Like a guardian angel. There was no reason for her to have such a weird wand. She didn't want it.

_Please leave me out of this._ She never once wanted to be a main character in a story. The stress having to deal with all the plots and subplots would kill her before the villain could.

"Aren't you Henrietta Potter?"

"Well, yes, but what's that got to do with anything?"

"Vanquishing the Dark Lord is an admirable feat, especially when you're barely a year old," smiled Ollivander. "As it happens, I didn't craft this wand. It is the last creation, the masterpiece, of my great grandfather. It's never found an owner, until now."

Of course not. You couldn't be the sister of the protagonist without getting at least _something_ extraordinary yourself. If this was a book, the wand would definitely come equipped with some kind of OP plot armour.

"Is it supposed to be blue?" Harry asked and poked it.

Ollivander took the wand from her and held it up to study. "It was painted with crushed blue minerals, dipped into the blood of—" He grinned. "That's not important. The thing is, it's old and comes from a different time when wand fashion was much more important. The more intricate they were, the more prestige they held, especially depending on the materials used to craft and paint it." He gave the wand back to Henry. "What you have here, dear girl, is the culmination of my great grandfather's knowledge. It was the last wand he ever made."

Had she mentioned how ridiculous this was? This unknown wand, never mentioned in neither books, films nor any fanfictions she'd read, was now in her possession. And what a wand! Culmination of knowledge, dipped in creature blood—what kind of unholy magical ritual had been performed to craft this?

Ollivander gave her a last, ear-splitting grin before turning to Harry. "Ah, Mr Potter, shall we?"

* * *

They left the wandmaker after what felt like hours, with a new wand each. Neither was particularly satisfied. Henry didn't want to be special and Harry didn't want to have yet another connection to Voldemort.

"How about we switch?" he suggested. "I take that fancy wand and you go duel dear old Voldy with his wand-sibling."

"I don't think it works that way." She still took the wand though. It made some sparkles but wasn't satisfied being used by her. Harry sighed, having achieved similar results with hers.

"We're twins, why doesn't it work?"

"Maybe we have to be identical twins, like Fred and George?"

"Sucks." They pocketed the wands and followed Sirius back to the Leaky Cauldron. No one noticed them. It was weird, but they weren't about to complain.

Sirius sniffed the air a few times and took them on another long winded quest through half of London (according to them at least) before they found the Dursleys sitting at a café.

"There you are," said Dudley snootily, glaring at them. "You've been gone for hours!"

"Where were you?" hissed Petunia suspiciously.

"Got lost. You didn't stop when we called for you, so we had to wander around until we found you." Harry shrugged. "Do we get lunch too?"

Petunia begrudgingly gave them enough money to buy a sandwich each. The twins were grateful for Ollivander spelling their trunks to grow and shrink on command. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to carry around all their stuff. And the trunks had been expensive, too. They were charmed with Expansion Charms to fit more than was possible.

"We're going home after this," said Petunia when the twins came back with food. "So eat quickly."

She didn't have to tell them twice. They were used to wolfing down their food. Petunia must have been satisfied with their speed, because she didn't say anything. Somewhere on the ride home, the twins fell asleep, leaning against each other. Dudley woke them by putting a wet finger in Henry's ear. She shrieked and accidentally punched him in the face.

"Let me _out_!" she screamed from inside the cupboard. "It wasn't even my fault!"

Harry sighed from the other side. "They don't care, so don't waste your energy." He sat with his back against the door until Vernon finally came to free her.

"Nasty creatures," he scoffed and walked away. "No dinner for you!"

"Who'd want to eat your cooking anyway?" hissed Harry and dragged Henry to their room. "Let's check out our books." They sat on the bed, Harry reading their Transfiguration book and Henry reading the Potions book.

"If it wasn't for Snape, I'd love Potions."

"Who's that?"

"The Potions professor. He's Slytherin's Head of House and mum's old friend."

"How do you _know_ these things?" sighed Harry. "And don't blame your prophetic dreams; this doesn't sound remotely like anything you should know."

"I just do."

"Ugh, fine." He buried himself in the book. Henry sighed but accepted he didn't want to talk to her. This wasn't a secret she could easily tell anyone, not even him. Magic was one thing, reincarnation from another universe another. In this world, it was possible to transcend death. That's what Voldemort did. But for your memories and personality to outvie the boundaries or reality? How did you go about explaining that?

She didn't want Harry to turn his back on her. He was the only one she had left.

Night came and they readied themselves for bed.

"Henry?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we'll make any real friends? At Hogwarts, I mean."

"Of course." He'd befriend Ron and Hermione, not because of his fame but because of his personality. And she… She had to do her best too. "There are good people in this world, people that look past our reputation."

"I hope so." He fell silent for only a moment. "What happens if we're not in the same House?" They were only apart when Vernon or Petunia locked them in the cupboard, and even then they stayed outside most of the time. To be in different parts of the castle, not sharing the same curriculum… it was unthinkable.

"I… I don't know," she whispered. "I didn't want to think about it."

If they were separated, there was nothing they could do. The Sorting Hat's decisions seemed to be absolute. If she was sorted into Hufflepuff and Harry into Gryffindor, they had to accept it and make the best of the situation. How they were going to do that, however, she had no idea.

"I see. Um… Another thing…" She waited for him to gather himself. Me having this wand… that's not something bad, is it?"

The question hung between them before Henry found her voice.

"Not might be an omen. Who knows how the world works? But I don't think it's bad." Trying to lighten the mood, she poked him with her toe. "Maybe you're destined to defeat him!"

"We already did."

She paused and looked at the ceiling. "Yeah. Sure."

Harry gave her a slightly concerned look, but decided not to press the subject. She'd tell him when she was ready. She always did. He just hoped it wouldn't come back to bite him in the arse later.

* * *

The day after, they wolfed down their breakfast and fled the house before Petunia could say anything. Henry wore her new skirt and shirt and Harry his jeans and t-shirt. They ran to the forest where Daycrusher (the boa said that was its name) was waiting.

" _Look here!"_ Henry excitedly said. Harry pulled their trunks from his pocket and placed them on the ground. "Tootsies." The trunks grew.

" _Impresssive,"_ Daycrusher agreed. " _Are thessse for ssschool?"_

They nodded and brought out their books. " _Isss it okay if we read here?"_ asked Harry. It was the only place they were safe.

" _Of courssse. I do not own thisss foressst."_ Daycrusher waited for the twins to settle down before curling into a ball in Henry's lap. She used the snake as leverage for her book.

Potions was the easiest subject in terms of magical use. Many first-year potions didn't require magic at all, and the class felt more like chemistry than anything. The book talked about different techniques being required to handle different ingredients. Most of the first-year ingredients didn't have any special instructions. It was a bit too complicated for a group of eleven-year-olds to remember how to accurately cut and crush five different ingredients, apparently.

There were _tons_ of useful potions and Henry found she looked forward to the lessons. Her only problem was Snape. There was nothing to do about him though. She had to make do with what she had.

Sirius showed up after a while and put his head in Harry's lap. The boy absentmindedly scratched him behind the ear.

"Can't we try out a couple of these spells?" he asked. "I wanna know if I can do it."

"The Ministry traces all use of magic until we're seventeen."

"So… that's a no?" Sirius barked his rejection. "Drat. I really want to try."

"Memorise the wand movements, then." She was busy remembering ingredients and their usages. "Aconite also goes by the name of monkshood and wolfsbane… used in the Wideye Potion and Wolfsbane Potion…"

"Why's it called wolfsbane?"

"Dunno, but the Wolfsbane Potion makes werewolf transformations easier."

" _Werewolves_?" He promptly closed his book. "Henry, you gotta start telling me about these things."

"But I am."  
"Only when I ask! I don't want to be surprised by every second sentence that leaves your mouth. We're twins, so stop withholding information about magic and _tell me_."

She averted her eyes. "I'm sorry, it's just that I don't think of telling you… because I already know."

"Then start doing it now." She promised with a nod. "Good. Now, please tell me what other creatures exist in this hidden world."

Except for the ones he already knew of (house-elves and certain magical animals), there were werewolves, trolls, giants, unicorns, pixies, dragons, talking spiders, phoenixes and hippogriffs, to name a few.

Harry groaned into his hands. "Unicorns, fire-breathing reptiles and burning birds. _Of course_ they exist." Henry patted him reassuringly on the back. "Not helping."

"Sorry." She didn't look regretful at all.

"Whatever. Did you know there are spells for virtually anything? Look at this one!" Henry leaned closer and snorted. He had found a first-year spell that made pineapples dance.

"When will we ever use that one?"

"If we have younger siblings or children?" guessed Harry. "It says in the book that some spells have no other function but to serve as examples for first-time casters to train with." Instead of accidentally maiming or hurting someone, schools taught useless spells for the children to get a hang of the practical uses of spellcasting theory.

They kept reading for another few hours before getting bored. They played a bit with Daycrusher and then returned home. Sirius walked them all the way to the front of Number Four before licking their hands in goodbye and running off.

"He's a magical dog, isn't he?" asked Harry.

"Why do you think so?" They entered the house and went up the stairs.

"Because he's weird. Also, what breed is he?"

She shrugged. Henry had no idea what dog he was supposed to be. A big mutt, maybe? Except having long black fur, his head reached their elbows. He wasn't fat, but not thin either. And people were scared of him. Whenever the neighbours saw them walk with him without a leash, they moved as far away as they could.

The rest of the month they spent the majority of their time in the forest with Daycrusher and Sirius. They finished reading their Potions, Charms, Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts books. History of Magic was dreadful to get through. Henry got two chapters in before giving up and picking up the Herbology book. Harry got five chapters in before falling asleep.

The last day of August, the twins carefully approached Petunia.

"We need your help," they said simultaneously. Secretly they grinned in the shiver that went through their aunt.

"With what?"

"Taking us to King's Cross tomorrow morning."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because otherwise you have to answer Professor Dumbledor why you didn't let us go to Hogwarts."

Petunia dropped the laundry she was folding. Her face went pure white before going red with anger. "How do you know about that?"

"We got letters of course," replied Harry with a cheeky smirk. "Never thought to tell us we were magical, did you?"

"That's not important right now," Henry said with a sigh. "The thing is, we can't get to King's Cross without help."

"I'm not taking you there! They teach you strange things, horrible things, at that place! You're going to hurt us when you get back."

The twins raised their eyebrows in surprise. "What makes you think that?"

"Because you have thus far not been punished for breaking the magical laws."

"If we use magic now that we have wands," replied Henry dryly, "we risk being expelled from Hogwarts. No way in hell we'll trade that place for this."

"Yeah, you don't have to worry."

"And you don't have to see us for more than two months every year. When we turn seventeen and graduate, we don't have to come back here either. We're legally adults by then, so we'll get a place for ourselves."

Petunia quietly fiddled with one of Dudley's sweaters, thinking over their words. Only two months a year for seven years and then they were gone forever? It was too good to be true. And there was no guarantee they _would_ be expelled for harming her family. When Henrietta sent Vernon through the wall, no one had come to take them away. They were _favoured_ and would never be held accountable for their actions.

"No," she said finally. "I'm not risking harm to my family for your sake."

The twins gaped at her. They hadn't thought she'd refuse. "Okay…" said Harry, not completely understanding what just happened. "I hope you're prepared to face the wrath of the Wizengamot for stopping their prized Twins-Who-Lived to get proper education. I mean… I dunno what _they_ would do to you."

Henry was now staring at Harry. Where had he learned to threaten people like that?

"How _dare_ —"

"App app app," Harry interrupted Petunia. "I wasn't done. You see, we don't know what we're doing when we use magic. We can't really control it." Bullshit, they learned how to do that when they were eight. "But they? They're the _Ministry_ ; of course they know what they're doing. One way or the other, they will punish you for withholding us from our birthright. We're their prized poster boy and girl—they need us. What they don't need is you."

"One day, you will get your comeuppance," spat Petunia. "Now leave! I'll get you there before ten tomorrow."

"Morning," Henry clarified.

"Ten o'clock tomorrow morning," hissed Petunia. "Now _go_. I don't want to see your ugly faces until then. No dinner!"

"Whatever." Not like they hadn't survived on less.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got the inspiration for her wand from Googlig images. From those beautiful wands came the idea that wand-fashion hasn't always been the same, and that some old-fashioned ones were still up for sale.


	4. The Hogwarts Express

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introducing our favourite Harry Potter character! Welcome, Blaise Zabini— All right, all right... Hermione Granger. Hehe.

The morning of September 1st was sunny and warm, contrary to Petunia's sullen mood. Not even her gloating laugh when she commented about their nonexisting trunks could make this day any less exciting. Today was the last day they had to see the Dursleys for months and that was worth celebrating.

"Why's only one of you got a backpack?" she asked before jumping into the car.

"Wouldn't you like to know," replied Henry.

Harry shook his head. "Wizard secrets."

That was all it took to get Petunia off their back. "Get in."

They didn't remember much of the car ride. It was spent in silence, because whenever they tried talking, Petunia hushed them. She didn't want to hear anything about magic and schools and spells. She didn't let them say goodbye before driving off, leaving them stranded on the train station. Not that they wanted to say goodbye to _her_ , but it was still rude.

"Come on," said Harry. "Let's find the platform." He checked his ticket and did a double take. "Am I seeing this right? Platform 9 ¾?"

"Precisely." Henry put her arm around his shoulders. He automatically snaked his around her waist. "To infinity and beyond!"

"What?"

They walked hand in hand around and through groups of people. Henry had been here once before, though it was a vague memory. It hurt, thinking of her past, but at least the memory was a good one. She'd gone with her family to London one summer, visiting King's Cross and buying way too many _Harry Potter_ related souvenirs. They'd gone on the Harry Potter Tour as well.

"You're not about to cry from seeing a train station, right?"

Henry took a deep breath. "No. Sorry."

"What's going on? And don't lie to me; I know when you do."

"It feels nostalgic," she said truthfully.

"Why? You've been her before?" He paused. "Have _we_?"

"I don't know. But everything feels familiar."

He nodded and stopped to take a look at a map. A woman passing by stared at Hedwig's cage. Her young son pointed at the owl and asked if he could also get one. She hurried away.

"Sad we can't put Hedwig in a backpack," Harry whispered and was on his way again.

"She'd be really mad if we tried. Where are we going?"

"Platform 9 ¾ of course. Or, well, it's not on the map, but platforms nine and ten are, so we're going there."

Henry grinned. Of course it wasn't on any maps, it was hidden from Muggles. When they finally arrived, Harry looked around. There was no platform 9 ¾ as long as the eye could see.

"I'm waiting for something magical to happen," he said dryly.

Henry snorted and led him to the column between the platforms. "When they said 9 ¾, they meant it literally."

"Are you suggesting we go through a wall?"

"What else?"

" _Wizards_."

Henry laughed and Harry couldn't help smiling. Seeing her happy was the best. They readied themselves to walk up to the wall when Henry suddenly pulled him to a stop. She was looking behind them. There stood that blond boy from Diagon Alley, nervously eyeing them.

"Hello?" Harry said with a frown. "What do you want?"

"I…"

"If you want to go first, be my guest." Henry pulled Harry out of the way. The boy didn't move.

"I wanted to… to apologise…" HIs voice got quieter and quieter with every word. "Because I was rude."

The twins eyed each other in surprise. Had he done something to Henry? Harry wondered bitterly. Henry was just surprised Draco had it in him to admit it.

"What did you do wrong?" Henry asked. "I want you to tell me."

His ears turned red. "I said… that your face looked odd. And insulted your mother." He took a deep breath, collected himself and looked her in the eye. "It's not becoming of a Malfoy to be so tactless. I deeply apologise for my wrongdoings."

_Tactless!_ Henry wanted to laugh. Yes, because being blunt was the main problem. But she had to give him credit where credit's due.

"Thank you. I accept your apology." She turned away and Harry followed.

"Wait!" They looked at him. "Would you like to share a compartment?" He looked so uncomfortable Henry knew she couldn't refuse.

"Sure. Lead the way."

He gave a small smile before turning to nod at someone. Henry recognised his parents walking towards them.

"Good morning," Narcissa greeted. "I'm Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mother."

"Lucius Malfoy," said her husband.

"Harry and Henry Potter. Nice to meet you."

Narcissa was a regal woman, with platinum blond hair, high cheekbones and glistering, warm eyes. The whole family actually had blond hair and Lucius' competed in terms of length with his wife's. If he hadn't been a Death Eater and old enough to be her father, she might have found him attractive. Long hair on men (if kept neat) was lovely.

"Draco told us about your meeting," said Lucius with half a sneer. "It's regretful about your parents."

The twins gave each other an impressed look.

Of course, it didn't last. "If only your father had chosen a more competent wife."

"Lily Potter was a nice young lady," said Narcissa and stomped her husband on the foot. He flinched but didn't make a sound. Harry and Henry bit their tongues to stop themselves from laughing. Draco gave his parents a long-suffering look.

"I hope you have a good time at Hogwarts," Lucius hissed, side-eyeing his wife.

"Yes, it is a wonderful place," she agreed without acknowledging him.

"Draco, be careful with whom you're mingling with. Even in Slytherin." Harry frowned at that. If Henry hadn't already known which House Draco was getting Sorted to, she'd look equally as befuddled.

Lucius made another comment about the political importance of proper allies. Draco nodded regally, even when Lucius not so subtly told him to stick with Harry and Henry. That earned him an elbow to the ribs.

"Aren't they lovely, dear?" Narcissa put her arm through his while he fought not to betray the pain he was in. "I hope you become friends. Let's go, love."

The trio waited until they disappeared to look at each other. The twins burst out laughing, earning them a small smile from Draco.

"Your dad, is he always like that?" asked Harry. "As subtle as a train, he is."

"I've never seen him so blunt. Or mother so violent. Maybe you have that effect on people." If it was smiles he wanted, he was dead wrong. "I'm sorry if I offended you," he said after taking a look at their dire expressions. "Did I say something wrong?"

They shook their heads, refusing to bring up the Dursleys.

"How about we find that train?" suggested Harry.

Draco gladly explained how they got to platform 9 ¾. He demonstrated by walking briskly through the wall with his luggage. Harry gave Henry one last doubtful look before taking Hedwig and followed suit.

Henry took one last look around her, took a deep breath and ran. The moment she went through the wall, it was like running straight into jelly. Her movements slowed and she didn't even stumble when exiting. To her left stood the Hogwarts train in all its red and old-fashioned glory.

"Falling in love?" teasted Harry.

"Funny." She followed him and Draco to the nearest door, where they helped the boy place his trunk. It was heavy and they barely got it up the steps.

"Next time," wheezed Harry, "charm it to resize with a password."

Draco gave him a tired look and pushed the trunk into place. When all of that was done, he led the way through the corridors until they found an empty compartment.

There was an awkward silence at first. No one really knew what to say. Harry opted to get the Herbology book from his trunk while Henry let Daycrusher poke his head out for fresh air.

"You've got a _snake_?" Draco stared at him. "You're going to get in trouble if they find out."

"Then best not to tell anyone," said Harry with a wink. "This is Daycrusher, by the way. We rescued him from the London Zoo."

"You did what now?" He looked at the snake again. It looked like it was licking Henry's cheek. Had they stolen it? Best not tell his parents about it. Or anyone, for that matter. He wasn't about to get them (and himself) in trouble before they reached Hogwarts.

"Doesn't matter now," said Henry. "Do you have any pets?"

"An owl."

"We got one too. Her name's Hedwig." Harry patted the cage and she made a quiet hoot. "She likes you."

Draco doubted that.

The conversation flowed better after that. The twins told him how excited they were about going to Hogwarts and Draco's jaw dropped upon hearing they'd finished most of the course literature. He prouded himself on a broom, which impressed Henry, who was afraid of heights, and made Harry laugh. He couldn't believe magical people _actually_ flew on brooms.

Some time later, the trolley witch came for a visit. Draco helped them buy a few snacks. Henry was amazed to learn pumpkin pastries weren't as foul-tasting as she'd thought and Harry vowed to never taste Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans again. Draco allowed himself to laugh at the sight of Harry's disgusted grimace.

"And these are Chocolate Frogs," he explained and opened a box. The frog leapt to freedom. Harry instinctively caught it. "Thanks. Now, you see the bottom here? It's a card. A lot of people collect them."

"Cool," said Harry and opened one himself. "I got Rowena Ravenclaw."

"The Founders are very common." Draco bit off his frog's head. The twins looked at Harry's card again.

"Who's rarest?"asked Henry while Harry checked the three other cards he got.

"Who's Gilderoy Lockhart?"

Draco wrinkled his nose. "Famous. The rarest card you ask? Let's see…"

While Draco thought about it, Harry read Lockart's description out loud. "' _Wizarding celebrity author, Gilderoy Lockhart, has written many books on his encounters with dark creatures and received many prestigious awards, including Order of Merlin, Third Class and Honorary member of the Dark Force Defence League.'_ He looks… yeah." Harry handed the card to Henry.

"Slimy?" she suggested.

"Yeah. I don't like him." Draco raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. "Oh look, I got… Who's Thanatos Roserage?"

According to Draco, Thanatos Roserage was a Pureblood wizard famous for inventing the so-called Eternal Music spell, Musica Aeternam.

"So he single-handedly destroyed a whole industry, huh?" Harry looked at the picture. "Wait—he left! Where'd he go?"

"He's not about to sit in there all day—you don't think he's got better things to do?"

"Huh?"

"Actually," Draco mused, "Thanatos Roserage might be one of the rarest to get. He's not exactly known throughout Britain."

Harry's other two cards were Albus Dumbledore and Merlin. Pretty common, since they were incredibly famous. Henry got a young Salazar Slytherin, Dumbledore and—

"Why's your father on a card?"

"He's in the Ministry," Draco said with a shrug. "Everyone knows him."

"What's he famous for?" asked Harry.

"Beats me. He's famous for being a politician, I guess. What's the last one?"

Henry held up an empty card. "Guess they got tired of waiting."

They had a good laugh at that. Harry asked Draco about the broom-flying, which was how he learned about Quidditch. It sounded incredibly dangerous and incredibly fun. He was disappointed to learn first-years weren't allowed their own brooms, let alone on the House teams.

"I think the letter said that," Henry said and leaned against Harry. "All in caps lock." When they looked at her in confusion, she blushed. "I mean, big letters."

"I see… So, what's your favourite subjects?"

"I'm looking forward to Herbology and Charms the most," replied Henry. If it hadn't been for Snape, she'd said Potions, too.

"Transfiguration and Charms for me. What about you?"

"Probably Flying and DADA."

"What?" asked Harry.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts," said Henry without missing a beat. "I wonder if there's a way to skip Flying altogether?"

"It's mandatory, so I doubt it," Draco said. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to the toilet."

Harry waited until he was out of earshot before turning to Henry. "What do you think about him?"

"Less of a prick that I thought."

He snorted. "He's trying very hard to get us to like him. I kind of do, too. He's polite and doesn't ask about the scars."

Because he already had and knew that was a subject better left alone.

They fell into a comfortable silence. Harry propped himself up on the wall beside the window, kicked off his shoes and put his feet in Henry's lap.

Henry's mind was brimming with anticipation. Who'd have thought she would get this far? Hogwarts was right around the corner and excitement and dread filled her stomach. What if the plot derailed? What if she didn't get any friends?

_What if we're separated?_ She wasn't sure she'd be able to sleep without Harry. They had shared a bed for eleven years now and the thought of not doing so made her panic.

But it would be fine. She'd make sure Harry got along with Ron and Hermione too. Speaking of which, Henry hoped the girl would come soon.

"Her-what?" asked Harry.

Henry looked at him. "Huh?"

"You said something. Like 'I hope Her-something-something comes soon'. Who's that?"

She'd said that out loud? Drat. "Hermione Granger… a Muggleborn."

"Oh." Harry looked at the door. "If you saw her in a vision, I hope Draco wasn't in it." Truth to be told, she hadn't either, but she wasn't about to tell him that. "Why would she come here anyway?"

"Neville's lost his toad. She's helping him find it. I wonder if I can Accio it here?"

Harry gave her a look of concern. Accio wasn't a first-year spell and had only been mentioned in passing in the book. How could she possibly use it? "I'd reconsider, since the toad has to go through a lot of walls."

"Right… Well, he _does_ find it eventually." She stuck her nose in her book again.

Harry sighed in frustration and did the same. "Someday I wish you'd tell me where all this information comes from." A lot of things could be explained by her visions, such as Her-whatever-it-was Ginger, but the Weasels being Pureblood?

"The books," he heard Henry mumble.

He froze. "Books? What books?"

Henry flinched. "I mean… Uh…"

"Tell me, tell me," Harry said in excitement. "And when'd you have time to read them? I've never seen you read anything strange."

How was she to explain this? "It's… it's nothing." She grimaced.

Harry blinked. Looked at her, then at her hands. "Wow. Alright." Hurt, he averted his gaze. Why wasn't she telling him? "It's strange, really. Books and visions of the future? Why do you have them? And why aren't you telling me? It's got to be real big if you can't even trust your own twin."

Henry looked at him in remorse. "You know, I… Uh. It's like… I… I can't… You'll think I'm mad."

Harry took a deep breath, held her gaze for a moment and then pointedly looked around the compartment and held up his wand. "Crazier than being magical, you mean?"

Henry glared at him. "This isn't funny, Harry! And I'm serious. As far as I know, no one's done what I've done before. It's not like I didn't get this knowledge from thin air."

"And that's what I'm asking! _Where_ exactly did it come from?"

"I was born with it!" she exclaimed. "Okay? Ever since the day Voldemort appeared, I've known everything. Because… Because…" She bit her lip.

"Because what?" Harry leaned closer. "Don't shut me out, Henry. We're _twins_. And best friends. I believed you when you told us we were magical, I believed you when you told me about Diagon Alley, the train and Hogwarts… I'll believe this too, whatever it is."

"I… I'm—"

The door opened with a bang. The twins jumped at the loud sound. Angry at the interruption, Harry turned and snapped, "Are you blind? Can't you see we're in the middle of a conversation?"

The freckled girl, with the bushiest hair he'd ever seen, probably worse than the trolley witch, was staring at him with big, shocked eyes. She was dressed in a grey skirt, dark grey cardigan and an oversized… cape with arms?

"Is the world ending?" he growled.

The girl woke from her confusion and looked away. "Sorry. I just wondered… Have you seen a toad?"

"A boy named Neville's lost one," she and Henry said in unison.

She stared at her for a moment. "Yes… Have you seen it?"

"No," Harry grumbled, still glaring at her. "Can you go to your appointment now?" He pointedly looked at the girl's hair. She flushed, huffed indignantly and slammed the door shut.

Henry gaped at him. He hadn't just said that. Not to Hermione. Was he mad? "That was uncalled for, Harry!" She stood and followed the poor girl. "Hey, Hermione, wait! Can you stop for a moment?"

Hermione Granger stopped and turned, glaring at her through tear-filled eyes. "Is it because I'm a Muggleborn?" she asked.

"What?" How did she even know about that yet? "Um, no? My mum's a Muggleborn and me and Harry are Halfbloods. He got upset because you… kind of interrupted a really… really sensitive conversation."

"That doesn't mean he's allowed to be rude."

She was very much right about that. "And I apologise. I'll have him apologise later too, when he's not upset. As of now… I'm terribly sorry he said that. He had no right."

Hermione hesitantly looked at her. "Okay, fine. I'm sorry too, for barging in like that. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way." She extended her hand.

"I'm Henrietta Potter. Henry for short. Nice to meet you, Hermione."

The girl took another good look at her face and frowned. "Like that famous girl?"

Henry curtsied. "The one and only, I'm afraid."

"So your brother… is he…?"

"Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived? Yup." She pointed at her scar. "Not really hard to tell, right?"

"Did it hurt?"

"Like a bi—nocular." They looked at each other. "Please pretend you never heard that."

Hermione let out a small laugh. "You're a strange one, Henrietta."

"Ew, please call me Henry. And hey, are you really allowed to say that?" She grinned. "It really was nice to meet you, though. But I gotta get going. See you in the Great Hall."

It was when Hermione had found Neville again that she remembered something strange. Henry had said her name before she introduced herself. How had she known?

Henry was unaware of her thoughts as she made her way back to Harry. A voice calling her name stopped her, however. "Oh, hi George."

The red-head stopped short and blinked in surprise. "How'd you know?"

She shrugged. "It felt right."

"Wicked." He grinned. "Are you and Harry alone?"

"Nah, we met another boy our age too. He's gone to the toilet, though."

George laughed. "No details, thanks." He winked. "How are you adjusting?"

If he meant to the wizarding world, terrific. The tension that had always surrounded them had gone and was replaced by a sense of security. They were finally with their own kind. How Harry had lived alone like this for eleven years, she would never know.

"I'm glad you like it, though you haven't even seen half of it." He was about to ruffle her hair, but she moved out of the way. "Right. Sorry."

"Not your fault."

"Kind of is, but I promise I'll get better someday." They grinned at each other. "What House do you think you'll be in?" She shrugged. As long as she was with Harry, it didn't matter. "Boring. I hope you'll be in Gryffindor. Then we'll see more of each other."

"We'll see. I have to get back now, but it was nice seeing you again." She saw how his hand twitched and grinned.

George caught it and returned it. "I'll do better next time. See ya."

Back in the compartment, Harry pouted.

"You're going to apologise next time we see her," Henry said and returned to her seat. Harry moved his feet to her lap.

"Why? She was the rude one."

"Just because she interrupted us doesn't mean you're allowed to be such a prat."

"Whatever."

They were still ignoring each other when Draco returned. He took one look at them and determined it wasn't worth asking about. He sat down and asked, "So, which House do you think you'll be Sorted in?"

"As long as I'm with Henry, I don't care."

"Same."

Draco shook his head. "Don't be like that. Don't you have a preference at all?"

"Hufflepuff, maybe," Henry replied.

Draco spluttered indignantly. "What? _No_ , as if the Potter twins can go to Hufflepuff! All the nobody's go there."

"That's mean," said Harry.

"It's true," argued Draco. "At least say Ravenclaw! Anything's better than _Hufflepuff_."

Wasn't he a bit unfair? What had Hufflepuff ever done to him? Henry couldn't stop herself from taking offence. It _had_ been her Pottermore House, after all.

"Even Gryffindor?" she mused.

Draco hesitated. "Maybe not…"

Harry rolled his eyes. "You're taking this far too seriously. My preference is Henry, and that's that."

She nodded in agreement and explained they had never been truly separated before. Even when one of them was stuck in the cupboard, the other had been allowed to stay on the other side.

"I think you're the first I've heard of that still share a bed," said Draco. "That can't be normal."

"We've never been," Harry said with a shrug.

Draco didn't know what to say to that, so he changed the subject. "Speaking of nothing, a couple of my friends are coming to meet you." He gave them a sheepish look. "I walked past their compartment on my way back and one thing led to another and now they want to meet you. I'm sorry."

"No worries," Henry assured him. They were bound to be gawked at and interrogated anyway, might as well ease them into it already.

"Thank you."

They got him to tell them about his family and home while they waited. Draco formally invited them to the Malfoy Manor in summer, which they happily accepted. Some time later, Henry was ushered out of the compartment so Harry and Draco could change into their uniforms. The Pureblooded boy was scandalized when Harry hadn't told Henry to leave, just threw his shirt over his head.

"That's how we've always done things," Harry explained with a shrug.

"Yeah," said Henry. "We're twins."

When the boys were done, they switched with Henry so she could change too. Her uniform looked just like in the movies, with a dark grey cardigan, black robes and a thick skirt. She hated stockings but knew she'd get into trouble if she didn't wear them.

Harry laughed when she let them in. She was throwing her arms from side to side. The wide robe sleeves flowed around her arms like water.

"Having fun?" he asked endearingly and sat down.

"Very." She joined him and once again he put his feet in her lap.

"The two of you are something else," sighed Draco. He continued explaining Quidditch and expressed his desire to join the Slytherin team.

With a knock, the compartment door opened. Three children their age stood outside and looked at the trio.

"These are my friends," Draco said. "Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson." Everyone greeted them left to right. "Guys, these are Harry and Henrietta Potter."

Blaise sat down to Henry's right while Theodore and Pansy sat with Draco. Theodore had light brown hair and a baby face. Blaise was a black boy with black hair and high cheekbones. Pansy was a cute girl with dark blond hair, a sleek nose and doe eyes. And she was frowning slightly at Henry.

"Nice to meet you," Blaise said and offered Henry his hand.

"Likewise."

"You really don't look like twins."

"Theo," groaned Draco. "A little more tact, please."

The boys shrugged, sending the twins a sheepish smile in apology. "So, how many freckles do you have?"

"Dunno, stopped counting after a while," Henry said with a smile.

"I like her." Her hair turned the same shade of brown as his. "Hey, you're a Metamorphmagus! That's so cool."

She was a what now? Theodore gladly explained it was an inherited ability that let you change your appearance at will. So that's what Tonks' ability was called! Henry had forgotten that.

"Did you learn anything about our world before coming here?" asked Pansy.

"We did research the best we could, but we don't live in London and didn't have easy access to Diagon Alley," Henry said. Harry gave her an odd look. Why was she lying about her photographic memory?

"I see… Do you know the difference between Purebloods and Halfbloods and Muggleborns?"

"By the sound of the names, I guess Purebloods are born between wizards, Halfbloods between a wizard and a Muggle or something, and a Muggleborn doesn't have magical parents?"

All right, Harry was definitely asking her later. This was her time to shine, to make friends, so why was she hiding her knowledge? Photographic memory was unusual, sure, but not unheard of.

"Correct. Halfbloods come from one magical parent and a Muggle or Muggleborn. You're Halfbloods, right?"

Henry nodded. "Though I don't see why that's important. We're still magical all the same."

"It's not the _same_ ," sneered Pansy, earning her warning glares from Draco and Blaise. "Purebloods are more sophisticated and actually understand magic before they go to school. Mudbloods only serve to slow us down—why do you think first-years aren't allowed brooms?"

Harry and Henry looked at each other in silent disbelief. How did they go about this without offending one of Draco's friends?

"Isn't that rude to say?" Henry asked carefully. "Telling it to us face to face, I mean. And so bluntly. Didn't you say you were sophisticated?"

Pansy glared daggers at her. "I'm telling you this for your own good, Miss Potter. If you want to keep Pureblooded company, you have to know what to expect."

"So all of Draco's friends are brusque and candid?" asked Harry. He was already tired of the girl. So what if they weren't as in-the-know as them? She couldn't blame them for being out of the loop. They'd tried their best.

"Because that's what you just told us," continued Henry. She glanced at Draco, uncertainty shining in her eyes. It might not have been the best idea to ride with him.

"Pansy," the boy said sternly. "Apologise."

"What? Why? What did I say wrong?"

"It's how you said it. Haven't you learned anything from your parents?"

Red in the face, Pansy gave Henry a last nasty glare and dragged a complaining Theo out of the compartment. Draco waited a moment before apologising profusely. How dared Pansy talk like that to _them_? They were his friends too! Or he'd like them to be. If she made them want to avoid him, he'd never forgive her.

"Let's talk about something else," Harry suggested. "Blaise, what do you think about Quidditch?"

* * *

The train came to a stop hours later. It was already dark and rainy. The group of four exited the train carefully and followed the stream of first-years. They were all gathering around a giant man with the thickest beard Henry had ever seen. Seeing Hagrid up close was an experience. He really was giant, but looked as friendly as in the movies. Somehow he spotted her and Harry and gave a wide grin.

Beside her, Harry frowned. He didn't remember Hagrid and turned to Henry for an explanation. She whispered that he knew their parents and was the one that took them to the Dursleys.

"Then I have nothing to say to him," he hissed in reply.

She winced, but didn't continue the topic. If he got to see how nice Hagrid was then he'd change his opinion.

"Not all kinds of kindness are good," he whispered, guessing what she was thinking. "Sometimes they make more harm than good." Unexpectedly deep for an eleven-year-old.

They followed Hagrid to the Black Lake. Boats lined the shore, just like in the movie. Excitedly, Henry entered a boat with Harry, Draco and Blaise. All four gasped in surprise when it began moving on its own.

The lake was glistering in the moonlight. They couldn't see into the dark water, but it didn't matter. All of their eyes were on Hogwarts. The castle was massive, with high towers and lights in every window. It looked unreal, as if they had just entered a fairy tale. Henry supposed she actually had.

The boat came to a stop on the next shore. Harry jumped off without problems and caught Henry when her foot got stuck. Draco and Blaise managed not to fall flat on their faces without help and followed the twins back to Hagrid. He took them to an unsuspecting door, up what felt like a thousand stairs and all the way to the Great Hall. The doors were closed and from within Henry heard the cacophony of voices.

With a last fond smile the twins' way, Hagrid left. Before he disappeared, he announced that Professor McGonagall would be with them soon.

"Excited?" asked Blaise.

"Very," whispered Henry. Harry nodded in agreement. This was simply more than he ever thought he'd see in the school. It was an actual castle! They had magical boats too. It was amazing.

"I hope we end up in the same House," murmured Draco. Henry sent him a kind smile. Again, she didn't care where she was Sorted as long as she was with Harry.

_What if we're like the Patil twins?_ She threw the treacherous thought in a mental trash can. There was no reason to work herself into a frenzy for something she couldn't control.

Harry grabbed her hand and gave her an encouraging smile. From the corner of her eye, she saw her hair turn black.

" _Now_ we look like twins," he grinned.

"Aw, shut it." She turned her head to look at the other students. She wanted to see if she could spot Ron or Neville or Hermione. Pansy met her gaze but looked away immediately. Theo shrugged and sent her an apologetic smile.

She locked eyes with another redhead. He was tall and lanky and looked a bit like Rupert Grint. And he was glaring at her. She frowned and cocked her head to the side in a silent, probing question. He looked away and spoke heatedly to Neville. At least he looked like Neville.

"What is it?" asked Harry.

"No, nothing. I was just looking at the other students."

"See anyone you like?"

She rolled her eyes. "I _was_ looking for Hermione, actually—"

"Look out for that guy, he's a _Slytherin_." Their small group collectively turned to stare at Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom. Had he just insulted Draco out loud?

Before Henry could intercept the disastrous conversation, Harry said, "We haven't been sorted yet."

_Harry, shut up!_ She nearly face-palmed.

Draco patted Harry's arm. "I'll definitely be in Slytherin," he said. "My family's always been there."

_So was Sirius' but here were are,_ Henry thought dryly.

"A slimy snake is what you are," muttered Ron.

"At least I'm not all talk and no bite, contrary to certain lions."

_Kill me. Kill me now._

"You bloody—" Whatever Ron had to say disappeared out the window when he saw Henry covered Draco's mouth with her hand, stopping him from adding anything more, catching both boys off guard.

"I'm terribly sorry for his rude behaviour," she said and gave Draco a seething look. "How about you both apologise?"

" _Me_?" Ron almost shrieked. Or maybe it was early puberty. "Why _me_?"

"Because you started it."

"But I wasn't wrong, was I? He even said so himself!"

"Mr Weasley, you're behaving like a child. Whatever Draco said doesn't matter, the fact is you were rude first. Isn't it proper to apologise?"

Ron was about to say something, but his mind caught onto what she just said. "How'd you know my name?"

_Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit—_

Before she blurted out something disastrous, Draco came to the rescue. He rolled his eyes and said with a sneer, "Everyone not _blind_ knows who you are. Red hair and hand-me-down robes? You're obviously a Weasel."

" _Weasley_ ," Ron hissed.

"Wasn't that what he said?"

"Harry!" Henry wanted to hit them both over the head. How was Harry to befriend Ron now when he sided with Draco? Couldn't he just stay out of it!

"They're all Death Eaters, why are you siding with them?" was Ron's brilliant counterargument.

_Shut up, all of you shut up!_

Blaise walked into the conversation and calmly faced the redhead. "Let me remind you, Ronald Weasley," he spat, his eyes flashing dangerously, "that neither my mother nor any of my fathers ever allied themselves with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Be careful with what you say, or you might make half the school your bloody enemy."

Not Blaise too. What in the world was happening?

Ron's face turned an interesting shade of red. "Slytherin is full of them! They're all evil—they'll use you." The last statement was directed to the twins. "Don't listen to anything they say."

Harry glared daggers at him. "Who are you to decide what we do or don't do? And wow, really? Slytherin's the evil House because, what, they associate with snakes?" He was seething with anger at the bigotry. "I hope you at least know snakes symbolises rebirth, transformation, immortality and healing. They're a symbol of the creation of life and even the bloody mark of eternity is a snake. What about them is evil?"

No one replied. Everyone was busy staring at him in disbelief.

Ron's intelligent retort was, "They're slimy, selfish and calculating!"

"And your family is full of blood traitors."

" _Draco_ ," hissed Henry.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, fine, whatever." He bowed slightly. "I, Draco Malfoy, formally apologises for being rude to… whichever Weasley you are." He looked at her. "Happy now?"

"As a matter of fact, yes."

Harry gave Draco a proud smile before turning his attention to the redhead. "Well? Don't tell me you're not apologising."

"Never. I didn't do anything wrong and I didn't lie. There's nothing to apologise for. Come, Neville." He retreated to the back of the gathered students. Neville gave them an apologetic look before following.

"Can people just leave us alone?" Henry muttered under her breath.

Draco heard her and gave a humourless smile. "Welcome to the wizarding world."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is, sadly, not a fanfic where Pansy is nice. She grew up with blood purity and supremacy, of course she wouldn't accept the twins so easily. As for Draco... take a guess.
> 
> Sorry not sorry about Ron, by the way. If you think about it, him hating Henry makes sense. It'll be explored further down the road, promise. There's a reason they both behave like this (and it's not because Harry and Henry should appear superior).


	5. The Sorting Hat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a SI-OC (self-insert original character) by the way. I just like to explore possible futures and outcomes and "what if's". And I can't picture myself into already established characters mind the same way I can with an OC. With them, I don't have to worry about being OOC (out of character).

_** Warning: ** _ **mental breakdown/s.**

Professor McGonagall appeared on the other side of the corridor. She was wearing a dark green witch hat and elegant green robes. The woman looked every bit as stern but kind as Henry had imagined.

"Before we go inside, there are a few things I need to tell you. You are to stand in a line, two by two, and follow me to the front of the Hall. There you will be sorted into one of four Houses: Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. They will be your family for the rest of your time here at Hogwarts. You also have a Head of House each: Severus Snape for Slytherin, Filius Flitwick for Ravenclaw, me for Gryffondor and Pomona Sprout for Hufflepuff. In addition, you will earn or lose House Points. All teachers can give and take them. To earn them, you follow the rules and stand out in class. You lose them by breaking rules and being rude to teachers. Now, off we go." She turned around and the doors opened.

"Christ," whispered Harry.

They followed the witch into the big hall. The tables were already filled with students in various ages, looking curiously at the newcomers. Henry saw the Slytherins to her far left, then Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. She smiled as George waved enthusiastically at them.

Harry grabbed her sleeve and whispered to look up. The ceiling was magnificent. It was charmed to look like an endless night sky, with constellations and stars moving lazily across it. Lights floated slowly in the air as well.

"What kind of spell is _that_?"

She grinned at Harry, ever so curious.

Somewhere behind them, Hermione said something about reading about the spell in _Hogwarts: A History_. Henry grinned.

Her giddiness quickly devolved into uncomfortableness. There were a lot of people in the Hall and all of their attention were on them. It felt like everyone was looking directly at her and she swallowed the lump in her throat. They weren't that interesting. It wasn't worth staring at them like that.

Her hands got clammy and she discreetly wiped them on her sleeves. Harry noticed her paling face and took her hand. He assured her no one was looking that much, but it didn't help because she felt the curious eyes all around them. She knew for a fact Dumbledore was looking at them. He was smiling from the podium before moving to his seat. Hagrid had also recognised him from where he stood. George (and Fred) as well.

She shouldn't be this pessimistic. This was the opportunity of a lifetime, her childhood dream. She'd come to England just to see the set, the props and meet the actors. She'd taken the Patronus and House tests on Pottermore, read all the books God knew how many times. She'd written fanfics for Christ's sake. Her room was full of _Harry Potter_ merch. This should be the time of her life, something exciting. Instead she felt like puking.

The friends she'd visited with were no longer here. In fact, she couldn't recall them, only faceless, genderless shapes that had once been people she loved. In this world, she only had Harry. Sirius didn't count; he was a dog at the moment. And stuck in Surrey.

Before she totally lost herself to despair, Harry squeezed her hand. "Not that I don't like your hair blond, but now might be the time to let people know how you really look."

Her hair immediately regained its auburn colour. "Sorry," she croaked.

"Is it the Sorting?"

Good God, not that. Why'd he have to remind her of that? What if they were separated? What would she do then? Sneak into his bedroom and share a bed? There were probably wards or spells stopping opposite genders from entering each other's rooms. She had to find a way to break them, because if she couldn't be with Harry she'd constantly worry.

"Breathe," he whispered in her ear. They had long since stopped before the stool and Sorting Hat. At least it felt like an eternity.

She clenched her hand above her rapidly beating heart. How she loathed the feeling of it hammering away in her chest. Was this how people felt before a heart attack? She wasn't surprised if her heart literally jumped out of her ribcage. Or gave out completely.

At least she wasn't shaking yet.

Correction. She was shaking. Drat.

And fabulous, the walls were closing in. The rush of blood overtook her ears and she didn't hear Harry's soothing words anymore. What brought her out of the panic attack was Harry's hand rubbing her back and Professor McGonagall calling the first student.

"Abbott, Hannah."

Henry must have missed her explaining the procedure. Whatever, not like she already knew what would happen.

Hannah Abbott went to Hufflepuff, Katie Bell to Gryffindor (didn't Draco curse her later on?), Susan Bones joined Hannah in Hufflepuff, Terry Boot (Henry had no memory of this boy) went to Ravenclaw and Lavender Brown to Gryffindor.

An eternity later, Henry was sure people were staring. The amount of curious eyes hadn't diminished in time with her yearmates getting sorted.

What letter were they on now?

"Bulstrode, Millicent." She went to Slytherin. Henry had a near mental breakdown then and there. They were still only on B and their surnames began with P. She'd go grey before this night was over.

Draco nodded in approval. "Of course she's going there," he said.

The Sorting continued. Michael Corner (again, she had no memory of this boy) went to Ravenclaw and Vincent Crabbe to Slytherin. Then professor McGonagall called for a Justin Finch-Fletchley, whose name Henry didn't recognise at all. Why were there so many people she didn't recognise? Had they appeared in the books?

She caught Justin Whatever-his-name-was gaping at her and averted her gaze. Their excitement was heavy.

Harry squeezed her hand again. Her hair was going white. "Should we go for some fresh air?" he asked. Their names wouldn't be called for another fifty years either way.

Henry shook her head. They had to stay until the Sorting ended at least. The stares and whispers would only get worse otherwise. So the looming darkness could, frankly, fuck off for the time being.

"I really think we should. You're going white. Literally." Her eyes stood out against her pale skin and white hair. And she was wondering why people stared.

"I'm _fine_."

"And I'm the Queen of England!"

"Goyle, Gregory."

Who the hell was _Gregory_? One of Draco's original bodyguards— friends sat on the stool and waited for the Hat to sort him. His name had been Gregory? A hysterical laugh lodged itself from her throat.

"Henry, I'm serious," Harry hissed, his hand holding hers so tight it hurt. But it was good. It helped ground her.

"His name is _Gregory_."

He looked at her like she was mad.

Draco put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Is she alright? She looks like she's about to faint."

"She can hear you," Henry replied. "And she's totally fine."

"Granger, Hermione."

That brought her out of her hysteria. Hermione made way to the stool and looked at the Great Hall. She appeared much smaller now, alone and for everyone to gawk at. The Hat was placed on her head and she jumped slightly.

Their eyes met and Henry sent the girl a smile. She shakily returned it.

"Gryffindor!" shouted the Hat. Hermione happily joined her table. Henry had always wondered why Hermione wasn't in Ravenclaw, considering her thirst for knowledge (now rivaled by Harry's) and her knack for studying. Somewhere deep inside her, Henry thought Hermione had come to value loyalty and bravery before knowledge _after_ befriending Harry and Ron.

"Do you hear that?"

"What?" asked Harry. "Hear what?"

"Ah." It was in her mind then. A piercing ringing resounded in her ears and was driving her up the wall, but apparently it wasn't real. Good to know. If it could only stop breaking her eardrums.

They were on G now. Nine letters until Professor McGonagall called for them. Could she hold out until then? Well, she had to. Then she'd get the hell out of there and get some fresh air and much needed peace and quiet.

Neville went to Gryffindor and then Draco was called. His fingers brushed against her comfortingly and sent her a reassuring smile. She relaxed, but only slightly. He walked up the stairs as regally as possible and had barely sat down before the Hat called "Slytherin!" He waved proudly to his friends before joining his table in the far (for him) right corner.

"Food," said Harry without warning. "What do you think they'll serve?" His fingers were massaging her palm. Her sweaty palm. Was she shaking? Drat.

"Everything."

Ernie Macmillan went to Hufflepuff, Theodore Nott to Slytherin, as did Pansy Parkinson (she was glaring at Henry). Parvati Patil went to Gryffindor and her twin Padma went to Ravenclaw. In the movies, they were both sorted in Gryffindor. Useless information, but any distraction was welcome right now.

"Potter, Harry." While the Hall fell into a deadly silence, Henry's heart nearly stopped before picking up its pace. She couldn't feel her hands. The time had come and she was not prepared.

For the longest moment in history, Harry didn't move. He held her hand firmly, trying to calm her down. Blaise realised something was wrong and gently separated their hands. He took Henry's and pushed Harry to the stool. The Hat was placed on his head.

" _It's been awhile since I last Sorted a Potter,"_ came a disembodied voice. Harry widened his eyes a fraction but otherwise remained still. The Hat had just spoken to him. Of course it had. Why was he even surprised?

_You're telepathic?_ he guessed.

Oddly enough, the Hat chuckled. " _I read surface thoughts and emotions; no need to worry. Hm, let's see here… Your parents were both in Gryffindor. I remember them well. Bright she was, your mother. Very brave, on par with Godric Gryffindor himself."_

Harry smiled wryly.

" _That father of yours though… Troublemaker. Intelligent and adaptive, but a troublemaker nonetheless."_

_Does that factor into your evaluation?_

" _Not necessarily. The way children grow up depends on their parents. The children learn to value different things depending on what the adults believe in."_

_So, where do I go?_

" _Marvelous question indeed. You're very brave. Incredibly loyal. That sister of yours means the world to you. Good, very good… but that_ knowledge _! What a thirst! Splendid, simply splendid. And you know now to utilise it. Fantastic. You'd do well in Slytherin—but I see that doesn't make you happy."_

Harry nodded absentmindedly. _Henry's better at it. Utilising her knowledge, I mean. I'm not_ bad _per say, but she's much more creative._ He smiled at the memory of her revenge pranks on Dudley. _For me, it's just fun. I want to learn every spell in the world._

" _And what will you use it for?"_

Harry frowned. _Do I have to use it for anything?_

When the Hat spoke next, it sounded like it smiled. " _Then I know exactly where to put you…_ RAVENCLAW!"

The Professor removed the Hat and Harry scanned the tables. The one beside Slytherin was cheering the most and some people were waving him over. Glancing at Henry, whose usually bright green eyes were now the colour of mint, he wished he didn't have to move. He had to thank Blaise later for sacrificing his arm to Henry's vice-like grip.

As soon as Harry took a seat and the Hall grew silent again, Professor McGonagall continued the call.

"Potter, Henrietta."

_Fuck no._ She had to leave. Her legs, she couldn't feel them. Her sight was blurry and that godforsaken noise sounded like an orchestra. Blaise was supporting her. If she let go, she wasn't sure she'd make it to the stool.

"The faster you get there the faster you get to sit," Blaise whispered. "You can do it."

It wasn't a question about her being able or unable to do it. She _had_ to.

With a lot of deep breaths, she braved the stairs. That was as far as she went. The stool was a plain thing made from mahogany, dark and old and worn. How many students had sat on this before her?

"You're supposed to sit on it," Professor McGonagall murmured.

She nodded mutely, took another deep breath, closed her eyes and sat. The Hat was placed on her head and she waited for something to happen.

" _My sweet girl, no need to fret."_

"Helvetes jävla skit." Her eyes propped open and she nearly leapt out of her skin. The Hat had spoken out loud in the first movie. She had _not_ expected it to keep the conversation mental.

Holy cow. Everyone was looking. All eyes were on her. And there were so many. Hundreds of students turned their attention to her, excitedly waiting for the Hat to announce her House. She spotted Harry, looking ready to run to her side. Draco was radiating worry as well. Blaise gave her an encouraging smile. She spotted Hermione too, and Fred and George. All the characters were hyperfocusing on her. Even the teachers behind her back. Everyone expected something from her, from _them_.

Without her knowing, the last colour from her eyes drained. Her skin, her hair and her eyes were now all pure white, illuminating her like a spotlight. Her freckles stood out like a sore spot and the scars running across her face shattered it like marble. It was impossible for anyone to look away from the ghost of Lily Potter.

" _Would you like to proceed with the Sorting?"_

"Wh-what?" She cringed at her piercing voice.

" _If you're uncomfortable speaking loudly, I suggest you think your answers instead. We're conversing via thoughts. Your brother was quick to realise."_

_Harry!_

" _Indeed, young Harry is a bright child. He told me the same about you."_

_He did? What'd he say?_ Nothing embarrassing, she hoped.

" _Nothing of the sort. He told me you were the mastermind behind their pranks on your cousin."_

Why in the world would he tell it _that_? _That's… true, I guess._

" _From what I can deduce, your eagerness to learn is as great as his, but… why? Why are you so scared?"_

She gulped. Death was a frightening thing. No one truly knew what awaited after life, if there was a heaven or hell or a soul, a collective place where all beings became one or if there was simply nothingness. It was scary, not knowing what would happen, not being able to plan for anything.

And… if she died now, what would happen to her? Would she return to her old self, as if everything had been a dream? Or had she died and been reborn? If that was the case, was there a way to find out what truly happened and if her family was fine?

There were a lot of things she was scared of. But it all boiled down to her fear of the unknown. Even Voldemort was only scary because he threatened to send her toppling over the edge of familiarity. He was ugly as all hell yes, and he knew some horrible curses, his ideals were warped at best and his actions monstrous. But all that could be dealt with a simple Avada Kedavra in the chest. She knew where his Horcruxes were—she could go get them, destroy them and end him without him ever knowing what happened. But if he killed her first, it was over. She wouldn't know what happened to her family. She wouldn't be able to stay by Harry's side. She wouldn't get to live a happy (second?) life. Everything would end—and then what? What came after death?

She needed to know. The Hogwarts library was hers to devour in preparation for Voldemort and everything else JK Rowling had thrown at Harry. She'd live and find out what happened to her.

" _What a remarkable resolution,"_ murmured the Hat. " _Marvelous. The loyalty towards your brother is exactly what Helga Hufflepuff envisioned in her students. The bravery in your heart to defy both Death and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named would awe Godric Gryffindor. Your thirst for knowledge, your adamance in learning everything there is, is exactly what Ravenclaw stands for. And that cunning, the planning… Slytherin is certainly turning in his grave right now."_

Henry almost laughed. The Hat was barmy. Comparing her to the ideals of the Founders? What, had she found herself as the protagonist in a fanfic? This was a joke. She was _desperate_ , not loyal, not brave, not smart and not cunning. Those traits didn't define her. She was a coward, always hiding behind the knowledge that in the end, Harry would live. He'd marry Ginny, become an Auror and have children. She just wanted to make everything easier for him, and in the end, for her. That was all there was: selfishness.

" _Are you sure about that, dear?"_ asked the Hat. " _Are you certain that cowardice and desperation is what defines you? Not love, not curiosity, not even loyalty?"_

_Pretty sure, yeah._

" _Then I know exactly where to put you."_

Good, because Henry had literally no idea. _Do tell me._

"SLYTHERIN!"

Henry lept from the stool in surprise, collapsing onto the floor. The damned Hat didn't have to scream the announcement in her ears!

The Hall was silent. It wasn't the same excited silence as before. Now it was filled with disbelief, surprise and—fear.

She looked up at the audience. Had she done good? Was not meeting their expectations worthy entertainment? From the looks some Gryffindors gave her, that wasn't the case.

Harry was making his way to her. Draco too. Professor McGonagall was already saying something to her, something she couldn't hear. Her ears were ringing again and her head heavy. She had to get out of here before she suffocated. Before she drowned.

"Don't move, Miss Potter," said the Gryffindor Head of House gently. "Tell me what's wrong."

"C-can't feel… f-feel my… my… my legs."

Professor McGonagall wasn't impressed by her dry smile. "Then let me help you."

"Henry!" Harry threw his arms around her. "Henry, oh my God, how are you?" He looked at Draco. "We need to leave."

"Nothing of the sort will happen." The witch gave him a grim look. "What she needs is a Calming Draught. Professor Snape—"

"Excuse me Professor, but I do believe I know my sister best. What she needs isn't a drug given by strangers, she needs fresh air, space and me."

Draco looked between them. Hearing Henry whisper "Don't look at me" helped him make a choice. He stood straighter and looked at the sea of students. "Tonight," he began, wondering if this was how his father felt during speeches, "we have witnessed the famous Potter twins' House Sorting. However spectacular that was, I have to remind you we still have students left to Sort." He turned to Professor McGonagall. "Professor, I believe we should continue, yes?"

Looking at him in surprise, she nodded. "Of course. Mr Potter, please escort your sister to the Hospital Wing. Miss Gemma Farley is a Slytherin Prefect. She will take you there."

Draco helped Harry get Henry to her feet, squeezed her hand and watched the twins follow the Slytherin Prefect out of the Hall.

* * *

Hogwarts was both warm and cold. Gemma Farley led them through sometimes lukewarm, comfy corridors, sometimes through corridors they were sure had never been heated up. They walked quickly, but not so that Henry's wobbly legs couldn't keep up.

There were paintings and cabinets full of stuff everywhere—never was there a corridor where you didn't have forty things to look at.

The paintings were polite. They were followed by greetings and "How do you do"s. The moving stairs had been the scariest thing. Henry made the mistake of looking down. Now however she felt much better and they stopped outside two big wooden doors.

"This is the Hospital Wing," said Gemma Farley, "where you go if you get hurt, accidentally poisoned or whatever else might happen to you."

"Peachy," Harry replied with a grin.

The Prefect rolled her eyes and opened one of the doors. Madam Pomfrey was just inside, surprised at seeing them. The two of them had a quick discussion before Henry was handed over to the medi-witch.

"Should I sta—"

"You're coming with me," Gemma said sternly.

"Oh, don't worry, she won't be here for five minutes." Madam Pomfrey disappeared into another room and came back with a vial of something. "Here dear, drink up."

"What is it?"

"A Calming Draught. It makes everything easier on the nerves. You can go back afterwards."

Henry took a deep breath and swallowed it in one go. Tasted like strawberries. She handed the vial to Madam Pomfrey and gasped. A rush of warm calmness seeped into her body from the chest. Breathing became easier, thinking became easier and her body stopped shaking. It was heaven on earth.

"Better?"

"Very much. Thank you so much."

The medi-witch sent them away with a smile.

"Do you actually feel better?" asked Harry when they'd left. Gemma Farley was walking in front of them.

Henry nodded, placing a hand on her chest. Her anxieties had gone, there were no signs of them. She hadn't been this calm in what felt like years (but was only a couple of days).

They tried sneaking into the Great Hall, but were caught immediately. Gemma Farley sighed in annoyance and instructed Harry to return to his table. He gave Henry a last tight hug before finding himself a seat. Henry reluctantly followed Gemma to the Slytherins.

Draco had saved her a seat. She thanked him for thinking of her and grinned at the food. Roasted beef and chicken, bacon, sausages, pork chops, steak, lamb chops and Yorkshire pudding were only a few things she could identify. It really was a feast.

"You missed Dumbledore's speech," Theo said from across the table. He handed her a bowl of steaming potatoes. "Want some?"

"Thank you. What did he say?"

Blaise took a sip of his drink. "The list of banned items got updated. No surprise there with the Weasley twins still in school." That earned him a few chuckles, even from Henry.

"Again, first-years aren't allowed brooms," grumbled Draco.

"And the third-floor corridor is off-limits," continued Blaise.

Theo grinned. "For everyone not wanting to die, he said."

Henry wrinkled her nose. "Peachy."

They switched topics to subjects. Theo was dying for DADA and Blaise was curious about Transfiguration. They were both into Quidditch and were thinking of trying out for the Slytherin team next year. Henry was impressed, mostly because she didn't remember a lot about them from the series.

As dinner came to an end, Dumbledore moved to the podium for a last little speech. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

The Hufflepuffs were the first to move. The oldest students sighed and shook their heads as they left the Hall, already used to Dumbledore's antics. The younger ones, especially the first-years, were at a loss. As was Henry. Did Nitwit and those words have a significant meaning? Or had he said it to confuse them?

"Slytherin first-years, follow us!" came a male voice from afar. The group of children followed each other to surround the two Prefects. There was Gemma again, together with a lanky boy with dark skin and dark red hair.

The walk to the dungeons wasn't anything special. It got colder and colder the closer they came, until Henry had no choice but to let Blaise and Draco huddle together with her to share warmth. Most of all she wanted to run away screaming, but the Calming Draught still helped and she looked at her discomfort as if it was on the other side of a glass wall.

Gemma Farley and the boy stopped outside an unsuspecting wall. "Remember this place," said the boy sternly, "because this is your only way to the common room. Pureblood." Part of the wall melted away into an archway. The Prefects went inside and the herd of children followed.

The common room was draped in greens and silver. Half of one massive wall was made from glass, with a nonexistent view of the murky depths of the Black Lake. It wasn't exactly looking cozy or inviting, but it didn't look like a dungeon or prison either. All in all, it was beautiful and bright, with a gigantic fireplace to warm it up.

"Professor Snape, our Head of House, will soon be here to welcome you," said Gemma Farley. "Until then, do you have any questions?"

A few people raised their hands. They had nothing relevant to ask, at least to Henry, so she quickly tuned them out.

She was the first to notice him. He stood rather far away, almost hidden in an alcove, looking at the students with a disapproving frown. Since he was dressed in all black and had black hair, the only thing she could see was his featureless face.

Snape's eyes (that she could only feel) fell on her. The disapprovement turned into irritation. He marched over to the group. Many first-years jumped when they noticed him, a tall man with greasy hair looking like Death itself.

"Welcome to Slytherin. Some of you do not want to be here," he said, making sure everyone saw he looked at Henry, "most likely due to false rumours. I am here to tell you to have an open mind. We are Slytherins, and we stand in solidarity against the other Houses. You may have quabbles with each other, but against outsiders, we are united and strong. Your Slytherin enemy becomes your dearest ally. Do you understand?" Everyone nodded, even Henry. "Perfect. I will now go through the list of rules, and afterwards, you can find your assigned dorm on the papers over there." Then followed a long list of rules, and Henry was genuinely surprised he read them all. And that he knew them by heart.

Draco, Theo and Blaise took Henry to find their dorms and roommates. The three boys were lucky and were sharing a room. Henry wasn't as happy with her arrangements. And she wasn't the only one.

"Why do _I_ have to share a room with a _Halfblood_?" complained Pansy. She looked at Snape. "I don't want to get her germs on my things!" What was she, five?

"I know it's not the ideal grouping, Miss Parkinson," said Snape, looking torn between agreeing with her and acting like an adult, "but the arrangements have already been made."

"Then make someone switch."

"I'm okay with that," said Henry quickly. "Changing rooms, I mean." She wasn't about to live seven years with a girl that couldn't stand her.

"Anyone want to switch rooms with Miss Potter?" asked Snape and looked around. Nobody moved. "Seems like you're roommates after all." With a last sneer Henry's way, he left. The Prefects directed them to where their dorms were and Henry begrudgingly followed after Pansy and two other girls. They introduced themselves as Millicent Bulstrode and Daphne Greengrass. Fabulous.

The rooms were much cozier than the common room. They still looked like they came straight from a magazine, but the beds were big and soft and there wasn't as much dead space as downstairs.

Pansy took the bed closest to the door. Daphne took the one farthest from that and Millicent the one beside her.

"You're not sleeping beside me," Pansy hissed at Henry. "Millicent, move."

The girl hesitated for a moment before nodding. Henry gave her her most sincere apologetic look, mumbled a "thank you" and resized her trunk onto the bed. Daycrusher was moving impatiently in the backpack, having been locked up in there for hours already. Curfew began after 10PM, meaning she still had time to let him out.

"And where are you going?"

Henry held open the door to look at Pansy. "To get some fresh air. If that's alright?" Pansy became red with anger, but Henry didn't care to stay. She carried Daycrusher through the common room, out the wall into the freezing corridor and back up to the Great Hall.

" _You can let me out here, ssspeaker."_

She put the backpack on the stone floor and opened it. Daycrusher quickly slid out of it. " _I'm sssorry you had to be in there for ssso long."_

" _It isss alright, ssspeaker. I am fine now."_

" _Good. Will you be okay alone?"_

Daycrusher did the snake equivalent of scoffing. " _Of courssse. If you ever need me, sssay my name and I'll find you."_ With those parting words, he slid away.

Henry returned to her common room, nearly locking herself out because she didn't remember the password, and crept into her bed, tired beyond her years.

* * *

The clock neared three in the morning and she was still wide awake. It didn't matter how tired she was or how cozy the bed was, because Harry wasn't with her and without him, the bed was too big and uncomfortable.

If she snuck out now, would she find Harry's common room? She had no idea where it was and she'd likely spend the rest of the early morning wandering the corridors, lost.

She looked at the walls. They were moving again. Sighing, because she couldn't get herself to be worried, she left the bed, put on socks and shoes and snuck out.

With the corridors deserted, her footsteps sounded way louder than they should. The dark shadows and light from the moon didn't help either. Everything looked eerie and deserted, like no one had been in here for thousands of years.

A loud snore shattered that picture and she grinned. The paintings were sleeping.

She was somewhere close to the moving stairs. Probably. Nothing looked the same and she had a hard time keeping track of her surroundings. Why hadn't they been given maps? Hogwarts had to start investing in them. She'd suggest it to Dumbledore if she ever had the option.

A warm hand landed on her shoulder. Another clasped around her mouth before she had the chance to scream.

"It's us," whispered George, "so please don't freak out."

_I already am, but thanks for the warning!_

He let go only when he was sure she wasn't about to scream bloody murder. She turned to look at him and Fred. They were wearing pajamas and holding what she assumed was the Marauder's Map.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "Preparing a prank?"

They grinned. "My my, Greg, I think our reputation precedes us."

"You're right about that, Forge. Isn't it amazing?"

Henry rolled her eyes. "I was serious, why are you here?"

They stopped grinning and looked at each other. Fred nodded and they turned their eyes to her again.

"Let's just say we knew you were out and running at 3AM. Did something happen?"

She smiled at the genuine concern on their faces. "Thanks for worrying, but it's not like that. I couldn't fall asleep." She bit her lip in embarrassment. "I've never slept without Harry before, so… I'm kind of looking for his common room…"

"That's a new one," said Fred. She glanced at him. He was smiling gently. "George and I have shared a room our whole lives too." Though they could sleep separately without worry.

"You want us to show you the way?" asked George.

"Yes please."

They moved to stand on either side of her and happily took her on a tour across the castle. She didn't bother learning all the secret entrances, but it was still cool to walk around a column at an alcove, into the wall and find yourself in a hidden corridor.

"Here it is," announced Fred. It was a door at the top of a staircase on the fifth floor. There was no keyhole or handle to speak of, only an eagle shaped bronze knocker.

"Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?"

"Holy fu—" She swallowed the rest of the curse. The door just spoke. Or, something had. "It's a riddle?"

"Basically," replied Fred.

"It's a conundrum," said George. "You can only come inside if you answer it correctly."

Henry was shite at riddles. No way she was getting in there tonight.

George, seeing her struggle, smiled. "A circle has no beginning," he said and the double doors opened.

"How…?" Henry shook her head. "Thank you."

"Of course. Go get some sleep now."

She bowed mockingly, earning her a laugh from them, and disappeared inside the common room. It was dark, but she could still see the homey interior. It took a moment to figure out where the first-years slept, and then she had to read the signs in total darkness to find Harry's name. He shared a room with Terry Boot and Michael Corner.

The room was brighter than the corridor, mostly because they had windows. Harry was sleeping in the middle bed. Or so she thought until he sat up.

"Who's there?" he asked.

"Me."

"What are you doing here? Christ Henry, what's the clock?"

She grinned. "Close to 4AM. Can you come outside?" She wasn't sure if she was allowed inside or not. There might be a spell cast on the boy's dorm to alert someone (Filch?) to what was happening. She wasn't in the mood to be caught.

"This is madness." Still, he joined her in the common room. They buried themselves under blankets in one of the couches. "How are you feeling?"

"Calm, actually."

"Which is why you ran around all of Hogwarts to find me."

She snorted. "Because I couldn't sleep. It was uncomfortable. Pansy snores." Which she'd deny to her dying day.

"Well, not like I didn't have the same problem." Harry grimaced. "I've been thinking of asking Madam Pomfrey for sleeping pills, or whatever the magical equivalent is."

"I hope you'll share."

They giggled.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you like your roommates?"

He did. They were kind and understanding, at least Michael. Terry was a bit like an excited puppy. He _was_ holding himself back, but his eyes and mannerism betrayed him. It was cute and Harry had no problems with it. At least he tried.

Henry smiled and yawned. It was good Harry found friends. She'd been worried he wouldn't because he had her, Draco, Blaise and Theo.

"Tired. Sleep," said Harry and snuggled closer to her. She wrapped an arm around him. "Love you."

"Love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually had to Google if uncomfortableness was a word, and it is. The more you know.
> 
> Also: "Helvetes jävla skit" = damn shit fuck (or basically. It's a Swedish curse).


	6. Hellhounds All Around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Re-reading the original published version of this is... cringey. Like, I wrote it while I was severely (for a lack of words) depressed, when I didn't have the mental capacity to see past a certain scene or thought. I should not have posted that. The proof lies with some comments posted before this rewrite is posted, aka before January 29th 2021. I'm frankly embarrassed you had to read that.

_**Warning:** _ **Bullying and claustrophobia.**

"How'd she _get_ in here?" someone asked in annoyance. "And why is she _sleeping in the common room_?"

"I'm more concerned about how she got here," another person said. "The entrances are charmed!"

"We can hear you," said Harry dryly and sat up. Two fifth year students were gawking at him. "What? Can't I spend some time with my sister?"

"She's in Slytherin—no you can't."

"Other Houses aren't allowed."

"Sad for you. What's the clock?"

"Six."

"Too early, in other words." He caressed Henry's cheek. She grumbled but cracked open an eye. "Wakey-wakey, time to go up."

"What's the time?" His grin was all the answer she needed. "Too bloody early." She sat up and blinked at the students. "Good morning. Sorry to barge in."

"Sorry to— Excuse me!"

"Where's she going?"

She was on her way to her common room, what else? Did they expect her to shower here? She didn't have a change of clothes with her, so no she wasn't staying.

"See you at breakfast Harry."

"Sit with me?" he asked. The fifth-years shouted their complaints.

Henry's gait radiated happiness down the spiral staircase and through the corridors until she came to the Slytherin entrance.

"Pureblood," she said, rolling her eyes. The wall parted and she skipped inside. Only to find a pale-faced Theo and furious Draco arguing with Pansy.

"I don't know where she went!" Pansy hissed. "Do I look like a babysitter to you?"

"No but you're roommates, shouldn't you have—"

"Good morning Henry," said Blaise calmly from an armchair. "How was your night?"

The trio turned to stare at her.

"You," Draco said, making his way to her, "where the bloody hell have you been?"

"I slept with Harry. When's breakfast?"

"In about an hour and a half," replied Blaise.

"Wonderful, I have time to shower!" With a wide grin, she moved past them and up the stairs. She took a long nice shower and dressed in her uniform before quickly checking her timetable.

 **Monday  
(9:30:10-30)** Herbology with Ravenclaw  
 **(10:45-11:45)** Charms with Ravenclaw  
 **(1:30-2:30)** History of Magic with Hufflebuff  
 **(2:45-3:45)** Transfiguration with Hufflepuff

 **Tuesday  
** **(9:30-10:30)** Herbology **  
(10:45-11:45)** DADA with Gryffindor **  
(1:30-2:30)** Transfiguration **  
(2:45-3:45)** Charms

 **Wednesday  
** **(9:30-10:30)** DADA **  
(10:45-11:45)** Potions with Gryffindor **  
(1:30-2:30)** Charms **  
(2:45-3:45)** History of Magic **  
(12:00-1:00)** Astronomy with Hufflepuff

 **Thursday  
** **(9:30-10:30)** DADA **  
(10:45-11:45)** Transfiguration **  
(1:30-2:30)** History of Magic **  
(2:45-3:45)** Flying with Gryffindor

 **Friday  
** **(9:30-10:30)** Potions **  
(10:45-11:45)** Potions **  
(1:30-2:30)** DADA **  
(2:45-3:45)** Herbology **  
****(12:00-1:00)** Astronomy

Was it legal to have school after school hours? At _midnight_? She sighed and put the paper in her bag.

Theo had been dragged to the Great Hall by Pansy by the time Henry walked into the common room. Draco and Blaise had stood their ground and accompanied her. Draco's stares bore into her as they went. She managed to ignore it halfway until it became unbearable.

"If you have a question, ask."

"Where were you and why?"

"Remember when I said Harry and I have never slept separately?" she asked and waited for Draco to realise. His eyebrows rose high on his forehead. He apologised. It was fine she assured him. It must have looked suspicious, seeing Henry tuck in but finding her missing the next morning. His worry was warranted and her own fault.

The Great Hall was filled with students chatting and gossiping. Henry excused herself, explaining she'd promised to eat with Harry.

"Houses usually don't mingle," was Draco's reply. "If they're rude, I'll tell father about it." He didn't understand why she was laughing at him.

They went their separate ways and Harry happily greeted her upon seeing her. The boy to his right grudgingly moved to give her space.

"This is Henry," Harry introduced her. "Henry, this is Michael Corner, Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein."

"Pleasure to meet you."

Michael was the only one smiling as he said the same. She decided talking to them wasn't worth the effort.

"Harry, have you checked the timetable yet?"

"Yeah. We have Herbology together." Terry Boot scoffed at his grin, which earned him a stern look from Harry and a stomp on the foot by Michael. Goldstein rolled his eyes at all of them.

"Potter told us you've finished most of the course literature, is that true?" he asked.

Except History of Magic and Astronomy, they had already finished the books. That wasn't to say they remembered all the spells, potions or whatnot, but they had taken a few notes, at least.

"I don't think anyone else is this eager to learn," said Terry Boot. "I mean, it's _school_."

The twins looked at each other and shrugged. He obviously hadn't been raised as a Muggle, of course he didn't understand how exciting all of this was. It was _magic_ for Christ's sake. It literally rewrote reality. How awesome wasn't that?

Breakfast ended and Henry promised to see Harry in a bit. As for now however, she should spend more time with her friends. Draco was obviously pleased, because he kept smiling all the way to Herbology.

Professor Sprout was a shorter woman with short curly hair and a kind face. She greeted them as they walked inside and Henry found her voice pleasant and soft.

"Since this is your first lesson, we'll take it easy," she began the lecture. "In Herbology, we learn about the basic ingredients of potions, medicine and much more. Herbs can have both magical and non-magical properties. Sometimes they can be creatures." At that, several students looked on in horror. "No worries, we won't do anything to them. Do you see the flowers in front of you? Does anyone know what it is?"

Henry looked at the dark branch. On it sat a white flower she didn't recognise. Harry though, raised his hand.

"Ah, Mr Potter?"

"It's asphodel, isn't it?"

"Correct! Five points to Ravenclaw. It has both mundane and magical properties, and the root, if powdered, is a potions ingredient. Has anyone read what potions require it? Mr Zabini?"

"Wiggenweld Potion, I believe." He was awarded five points as well.

Henry raised her arm. Professor Sprout looked at her in surprise before nodding. "I'm not sure, but is it used in the Draught of Living Death?" She had a vague memory of it being connected to death, at least to the Greeks. There was said to be a field of asphodels in the Elysian Fields.

"It is! Wonderful, Miss Potter. Five points to Slytherin. Asphodel is also called the Royal Staff. It's from the lily family and symbolises death. It grows on the grounds." For the rest of the lesson, she taught them how to recognise the flower. The stem was dark green in colour, the leaves long and slender and the flowers long and pointed.

As they left the greenhouse, Draco twirled his flower between his fingers. "It smells nice."

"Agreed," Henry replied. "Where next?"

"Charms with me." Harry nudged her shoulder. "Do you want to—" Terry Boot walked up to him and threw his arm around Harry's shoulder.

"Don't tell me you're ignoring us on the first day of school."

Harry, who'd stopped walking, stared at the ground. Henry slapped Boot's hand away. "Harry, what's my favourite English word?"

"Petrichor."

"Exactly. Remember what it means?"

"The smell of rain."

"And why do I like it?"

"Because rain makes you feel good. You always wanna go out when it rains. The dirt smells funny, but you like it."

He calmed down quickly after that. Boot apologised for surprising him. Harry, the angel, nodded and accepted the apology without explaining what actually went wrong. Their group was the last to arrive at Professor Flitwick's classroom. They quickly sat down, Blaise with Draco and Henry and Harry with his friends on the other side of the room.

"Alright students! We're starting small today, with a few theories of magic," the Professor said excitedly. "The first theory—and I suggest you write everything down—is _the Theory of Cores_." Magic came from somewhere inside the body. Most people felt it around the chest. The conclusion was that somewhere in that area, magic gathered. The place it gathered in was called a core, and cores could be different sizes depending on the person. It wasn't known whether or not blood purity factured into the size or not.

This theory held a lot of weight. People could feel themselves tire after using an excess amount of magic, and with enough rest, their "cores" recharged like batteries.

"The second theory, _Neutral Magic_ , suggests that we do not in fact create our own magic, but that we absorb it from the world around us," Professor Flitwick continued. "Wild magic, that is to say magic in nature, is Neutral, but when we absorb it, it goes through a change."

"How?" Henry asked.

"The magic gathers in our cores."

So both theories used a gathering place for magic, but the difference was that one thought the magic came from the person (the first theory) and the other that it came from nature (the second). In the second theory, the core cleaned the magic from its wild properties to suit the body.

"What's this got to do with Charms, Professor?" asked a Ravenclaw.

"Excellent question. The thing is, without knowing _how_ magic works, it's hard to use it." Well duh. You couldn't drive a car without knowing how to change gear or even turn it on either.

"So how do we use it?"

"When you were younger, do you remember doing things like levitating objects? Maybe make them disappear or move? Or even appear when they were in another room?" Everyone nodded. "Do you remember how it felt? Miss Potter?"

Henry frowned. "It was… warm. Like liquid fire. It seeped from my chest to my hands most of the time."

"That's what it's usually like," the Professor nodded. "That feeling is what we're going to recreate today. You see the feathers in front of you? We're going to use them. The spell is called Wingardium Leviosa. Everyone, draw your wands. This is the wand movement. Do after me."

They felt silly waving their fabulous sticks around, but Flitwick didn't let them stop until they did it almost perfectly. Then he demonstrated the spell, making his own feather rise a few feet off the ground before gently falling back.

"It's all about intent," he explained. "You need to wish for the feather to levitate."

"Then why do we need wand movements and incantations?" Pansy asked in annoyance.

"Good question. Anyone have a guess?"

Henry felt daring and raised her hand. "To focus," was her answer. "You need a goal, the intent: that's the incantation. You need focus: that's the movement. Incantations and wand movements should make it easier to focus on what you want the spell to accomplish, right?"

"Marvelous! That's right, Miss Potter." He looked at Pansy. "That's why silent magic is so hard; you need more focus to do it, at least in the beginning. It's even worse when you use it without a wand to direct the magic. If you're not careful, it will spread through the body instead and the spell won't be cast." He asked if anyone else had a question before letting them try the spell.

 _Alright. Intent. I want it to fly. How precise do I have to be?_ She pulled out her wand and mumbled the incantation under her breath.

"What is _that_?"

She looked at Padma Patil. The girl was focusing on Henry's wand. It wasn't pulsating though. Yet. This was the first time she'd shown anyone the wand, wasn't it? Drat. More and more students paused to look at what was happening.

"Of _course_ they have special wands," someone said in irritation. Henry looked at the wand and let it disappear into her robes again.

"Hey, what's the problem?" snapped Draco. "It's a wand, not the World Cup. Get lost." Blaise smirked at his less eloquent retort but nodded in agreement nonetheless. Even Harry looked ready to snap at the student.

"Wands choose their owners," said Professor Flitwick calmly. "And their looks have nothing to do with anything. Is that a wand from Ollivanders, my dear?"

Henry nodded. "It was made by his great grandfather."

"I see! It's gorgeous. I hope you're being careful with it." She nodded again, her eyes never leaving the feather. "Let's continue the lesson, shall we? Five points to whichever House managed to get the spell correct first." That set fire to the students and they began shouting incantations left and right. Had Ron been here, someone would have lost an eye long ago.

* * *

Slytherin took the five points. Blaise was the first to get his feather going. Henry didn't try, not daring to pull out her wand again. Professor Flitwick had a quick word with her after class, where he told her it was fine, but he'd like her to try next time. She promised she would. However, she'd make sure Blaise helped her during spare time to master it. That way she could whip her wand out, perform the spell and be done without anyone knowing what happened.

"Brats," hissed Draco on their way to History of Magic two hours later. Harry had gone with his Housemates to Defence. "I'll show them!" Henry didn't bother asking how. He'd just write another complaint to Lucius Malfoy.

History of Magic was as dreadful as the books and fanfictions described it. Binns was _dead_ , let him rest in peace! He shouldn't have taught the subject even while alive. Theo fell asleep the first ten minutes and even Blaise looked like he had trouble concentrating. The ghost didn't have any charisma or rhetoric ability to speak of.

When they exited the classroom, Henry didn't remember a word. Her notebook was laughably empty.

"How are we to survive that for seven years?" she asked, mortified at the prospect. She had to read up on her spare time, in the library, if she wanted to pass the subject. She wasn't looking forward to it at all.

"Ugh, don't think about it," grumbled Draco. "Wait, where are we going?"

"Transfiguration," Blaise replied, "but we took a wrong turn just now. If we're not careful, we'll end up at the third floor."

"Hell no," Henry muttered and retraced their steps. "Not dying today!"

"Yeah, you've had enough of near-death experiences, haven't you Potter?" sneered Pansy, who was walking past them with Daphne Greengrass and Millicent Bulstrode. What was this, _Mean Girls_?

"I like your wand," Millicent told Henry.

"Yeah, it was pretty," Daphne agreed.

Pansy glared at them before rushing away. The girls apologised and ran after her.

"Honest questions." Henry looked at Draco. "How the heck is she your friend?"

Draco was wondering the same thing right now. Pansy had always been clingy, but this was insane. Henry had done nothing to warrant the girl's hatred.

"I'll talk to her," he sighed. "She listens to me."

"Let's hope."

Professor McGonagall sat perched on her desk in her Animagus form when they entered. Her eyes followed them as they sat down, Draco with Theo and Blaise with Henry. Theo looked relieved seeing it was Draco and no one else.

The last students arrived. Professor McGonagall didn't move until someone asked where she was. She took a great lead and transformed mid-air and walked back round the desk. To say everyone was impressed was an understatement.

"What was _that_?" Draco asked from in front of her.

"She's an Animagus," Henry replied quietly. When they got older, she wanted to learn it too. All right, since she was a Metamorphmagus, she might not need it, but it sounded fun. If she had the time, maybe.

Professor McGonagall explained the same thing about intent and incantation as Professor Flitwick. During the whole lesson, they practiced the Transfiguration alphabet. A few letters (or hieroglyphs) reminded her of moon glyphs, others she recognised from her past life, having researched different alphabets (both real and fake) in an attempt at creating her own language. It was sad she didn't have her notes with her now.

The alphabet was easy to learn—for Henry at least. The same could not be said for the formula, which Henry didn't understand squat about. Professor McGonagall explained Transfiguration as more scientific than other subjects, which of course made Henry think of physics, with atoms and molecules. Was it possible to split an atom with magic? Surely someone would have done so if that was the case.

The hour was up and Henry's brain wasn't more than mush. The formula they'd learned had looked like three different gibberish mashed together and upside down. There had been some math involved as well, and Henry was worthless at that.

"Freedom," Theo said and stretched his arms. "I wasn't sure she would shut up."

"How many alphabets do you think the Transfiguration alphabet consists of?" asked Henry. They stared at her. "What? Some looked similar to the Witch Alphabet, moon glyphs, astrological planetary signs… I can go on all day."

"How do you know this?" asked Draco. "I didn't recognise anything." She shrugged to which he rolled his eyes. "Fine, keep it a secret."

She grimaced, but hung her head so her hair covered her face. They chatted on their way to the library, where they were meeting with Harry. He gave Henry a big hug before settling down to her right. Draco sat to her left.

"Professor Quirrell isn't afraid of handing out homework," he complained. "We have to write ten inches on the Curse of the Bogies—what kind of curse is that even? And ten inches? Just a moment, I have to find a ruler somewhere in this ancient castle."

Blaise snorted. "Careful Harry, your sarcasm is showing."

"The sarcasm is strong with this one," Henry mumbled and giggled at her own reference. No one except Harry understood it. He chuckled and gave her a high-five.

"What?" asked Theo. "What's that about?"

"Movie reference," the twins said.

"That's creepy."

"Rude."  
Draco rolled his eyes. "What's a movie?"

Harry gaped. He'd never heard of a movie before? "You know the paintings move, right?" He waited for the boys to nod. "Well, that's what a movie is, in a sense. But you can't interact with it. What they say and do are predetermined."

"Wicked," Theo said.

"Let's just get done with this," sighed Henry. She picked up _A History of Magic_ by Bathilda Bagshot to work on her homework. After she was done, she'd roam the library a bit to see if she found something interesting to read. There were a few spells she wanted to learn in advance, Accio for example. And Protego.

* * *

The dream scared her awake before washed away, leaving not a trace behind. Henry had far more pressing concerns to deal with. The walls were closing in on her. Quickly, she pulled on her shoes and rushed out of the room, down the stairs and out of the common room. The cold air forced the rest of her sleepiness away.

There was no destination. In reality, she wanted to curl up in Harry's bed again but knew when she was not welcome. It was one thing to intrude during breakfast, another to break into the common room in the dead of night.

And she couldn't depend on Harry for all eternity. Draco had said their behaviour was odd. Granted, he didn't have siblings, but she knew he was right, having had one in her previous life.

She wasn't sure if she wanted it to be previous. By loving Harry and seeing him as a brother, was she betraying her original family? Were they actually "original"? She had no idea if reincarnation was normal or not. Either way, she wasn't sure if she wanted to return to her past life, having grown up with Harry and magic.

She shook her head. _Focus,_ she scolded herself. They were eleven now and in different Houses. Out of respect for tradition, she had to refrain from sneaking into his common room every night, though she longed for the safety he provided.

 _I don't like it._ Why did the Hat have to place them in different Houses? She knew the answer, she really did, but it was a bitter reminder that though they were twins, they were not the same person.

Harry, not knowing fully about Voldemort and the books, grew up regarding knowledge higher than anything else. Henry, wanting to survive, thought its usage was more important. Of course that landed them in different places, but that didn't stop her from disliking it.

She'd made it to the godforsaken stairs. They barely moved so late at night, when no one but teachers were supposed to be awake. Should she go back? She wasn't tired. And the thought of returning to the bed wasn't as welcoming as it should be. It was a strange room, with strange people, sounds and smells. It wasn't _theirs_.

The staircase in front of her moved. Before she could think it through, she jumped on. Let the stairs decide where to go. She wasn't returning anytime soon anyway. Why not roam around a little? As long as Mrs Norris and Filch didn't find her, she was safe.

She left the stairs and looked around the new corridor. She hadn't been here before, but Hogwarts was so big it wasn't exactly hard to find oneself in a new place. Especially on the second day of being here.

There were tons of cabinets. Each one hosted different things. The first one was full of moving pictures of people she didn't recognise. The photos looked old. She took a closer look and read the names underneath. _Holland Hallower_ , what an unfortunate name. _Bane Vikander, Anya Kowalski, Phantasos Osmander, Anais Soleil, Thanatos Roserage_.

She paused. Roserage—the man on the card. He'd gone to Hogwarts? _Of course he has._ She really shouldn't be surprised. Curious, she took a better look at him. He was taller than the others, with dark skin and bright hair. She couldn't see any defining colours though; the photos were too old for that, but she admitted he was handsome.

"Class of 1865," she read. Wow, a hundred and twenty-six years ago. How long did wizards live, again? Two hundred years? He should be dead by now, or at least old.

"Do you enjoy nightly walks?" Before she had a chance to scream, George clasped his hand over her mouth. "Sorry," he whispered, "couldn't resist."

"Thanks for scaring the life out of me," she muttered when he let go. "And weren't you saying something about getting better at that?" She eyed his hand in disdain.

"Uh." He coughed. Fred snorted.

"She got you now."

"Shut up." George smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Kind of forgot. The temptation of surprising you was too great."  
She noticed. "What are you doing here? And how'd you know where I was?" That same faded parchment from before stuck out from Fred's hoodie. "What's that? A map?"

"Uuh, kind of." He not-so-discreetly pushed it further into his pocket. "So, what are you doing out here?"

"Couldn't sleep." She began moving again. The cold was seeping in from her pajamas.

"Are you an insomniac?" asked George. He flanked her right side while Fred took her left. She felt like a little sister. Except Ginny would probably punch them.

"Close enough. How'd you find me?"

"Lucky guess."

"You think I'll believe that?"

They shrugged.

"You have to," said Fred.

"Because we're not telling you," continued George. She rolled her eyes, to which they grinned. "But since you're up and about, how about a tour of the castle?"

Sounded like a good idea, actually. She had to find her way sooner or later, and who better to help her than the boys with the Marauder's Map at their disposal?

"How about we go back?" said Fred suddenly. "This is the third floor, right?"

George grabbed the map from his brother's pocket, activated it under his breath and checked. "Drat, it is. Let's go."

Of course that's when Fluffy decided to snore. Loudly.

They froze. Though Henry knew what it was, she was afraid. Fluffy was _huge_ , with powerful paws and sharp teeth. Not to mention three heads. He wasn't something she wanted to encounter in the dead of night.

"What the bloody hell was that?" whispered George. Henry smiled faintly at him. He stood between her and where Fluffy must be, on the other side of the fork behind them.

"I dunno, but best not find out."

"Aren't you two made for this?" Henry teased as they inched their way back to the staircases.

"We love pranks, not death," muttered Fred. Fluffy snored even louder. The boy jumped. "What _is_ that?"

"I dunno. But whatever it is, it must be hu— Gah!" George tripped over Henry's feet and sent them sprawling on the floor. The snores stopped.

"Oh Merlin," Fred breathed.

For a moment, no one moved. Then Fluffy took a step forward. Being as big as he was, the step reverberated through the corridor.

 _I'm so glad this isn't a horror movie,_ ran through Henry's mind seconds before the dog poked one of its heads around the corner. It stared at them and they at it. The silence stretched on for what felt like half a moment and three eternities. Then Fluffy howled in rage.

"RUN!" the twins screamed. Fred dragged them both to their feet and they bolted through the corridor and back to the safety of the stairs. They ran down them as well, Henry nearly falling on top of Fred.

They didn't stop until they were halfway down the dungeons. Henry lay down on the ground, panting, while Fred leaned against the wall and George sat by his legs.

"That's a big dog," Fred said between deep breaths.

"Cerberus," Henry said. "Did you see the other heads?"

George wheezed. "Hell no. I was trying not to get eaten. Now I understand why Dumbledore warned us about it." And he was never going back.

"Why the hell have a Hellhound in a place full of children?" Henry asked. It was something she'd always wondered about. The protection around Fluffy was far too lacking for a school with Muggleborns (and frankly any child) _not_ to get hurt while curiously exploring. It didn't matter Dumbledore explicitly told them to stay away. Children were curios and dumb.

"Beats me."

Fred hummed thoughtfully. "There must be something in that corridor Dumbledore doesn't want anyone to find."

"Let it stay that way." George eyed his twin in suspicion. "We're not going back there, Freddie. Just no."

"Never said we were. I don't want to set foot there ever again." He shuddered. "Seeing a Hellhound once is enough. And I don't care what it's guarding if I have to lose my life for the answer."

"I second that," said Henry from the ground. "I can't feel my legs." George gave her a mischievous grin and poked her knee. "Seriously?"

"Of course. Now, let's get you back to bed. Enough adventure for today."

"Aw, but what about the tour?" She took their offered hands and they pulled her to her feet. "I was looking forward to it."

"How about another night?" yawned Fred. "I doubt this will be the last time you're up until witching hour."

She couldn't very well refute that, so she kept quiet. They walked her through the dungeon until they were two corridors away from the common room. Fred and George bid her goodbye with identical grins and sauntered away. She waited until their footsteps died down before she walked the rest of the way.

She collapsed into her bed, falling asleep as soon as she pulled up the cover.

* * *

The rest of the week went by fairly good. They began Tuesday with Herbology and Professor Sprout was eager to teach them. Defence wasn't anything like she'd expected. Quirrell's stammering was subpar at best, and she wasn't sure why no one else noticed. Probably because they were busy giggling at his turban and gagging at the strong smell of garlic.

They had Defence with Gryffindor on Tuesdays. Hermione was already in the classroom when Henry and her friends entered.

"I'm going to sit with her," Henry whispered to Draco and Blaise.

"She's a Mudblood," Draco replied, scandalized at the thought.

Henry gave him a long look. "So was my mother. Thanks for the reminder."

Hermione looked surprised when she asked if she could sit with her but happily agreed. "Won't your friends be upset?" she asked.

"Draco is. Don't mind him too much. He's an immature child and doesn't know better. I'm trying to teach him it's not right." She made him sound like a dog.

 _Oh Sirius._ She hoped he was fine, wherever he was. She was starting to miss him.

Draco looked at the girls chatting quietly while Quirrell held his lesson. Henry was tricky to talk with. She was a Halfblood and grew up as a Muggle—of course she got upset he spoke about Hermione like that.

"I hope you're thinking of apologising," murmured Blaise.

"Of course. I don't want her to be angry with me."

Blaise didn't bother explaining that's not a good reason to apologise. He'd sit back and watch the boy make a bigger fool of himself. It was good entertainment.

Quirrell didn't teach them anything noteworthy. Henry didn't even remember what he'd talked about. A kind of animal, maybe? She asked Hermione if she knew.

"Curse of the Bogies," she replied. "Weren't you listening?"

"I thought I was, but apparently nothing stuck." She'd ask Harry to read his notes. Again, hers were empty.

She hadn't gotten her daily dose of Harry yet, so she left her friends at lunch to sit with him and recharge her batteries. His yearmates hadn't warmed up to her (surprise surprise) but at least they were speaking to her. He promised to give her his notes after classes ended.

During Transfiguration, they repeated the alphabet and formula until everyone could recite and draw them perfectly. That was about all they had time for.

"Miss Potter," Professor McGonagall called. "Please stay a bit."

She looked at her. Had she done something wrong? Perhaps McGonagall knew she'd been out after curfew or seen Fluffy. How was she to get out of this? She didn't want detention!

"How are your Housemates?"

"I'm so sorry Professor, I— Wait, what?"

Professor McGonagall gave her a small smile. "Slytherin consists mostly of heirs to Dark Pureblooded families. They usually don't take kindly to Halfbloods or Muggleborns. I wonder if you've had any problems thus far."

 _Oh._ Of course she was worried. Henry felt silly for working herself up over nothing. "Well, not really. Draco and Blaise have been nice since the beginning. I don't think anyone dares to do something because they like me."

"Draco Malfoy?" McGonagall sounded genuinely surprised. "I've seen you together a few times, but to think you were this close."

Henry shrugged. Draco wasn't a good person by any means, at least not in canon, but he was the first friend she made and he tried very hard to be nice. She wasn't going to chide him for a few mistakes. She was, however, going to do something about his view on blood status. If not because she thought it wrong, at least because she didn't want to hear him sneer at her mother and Hermione.

"I miss Harry though," she said to take the attention off of her friends.

"Don't you see him every day?"

Only because she barged in during lunch.

"We've always been together," she explained to the witch. "Being separated like this is… a new experience. I don't know about him, but I'm not totally comfortable with it."

Professor McGonagall gently patted her on the head. Henry tried very hard not to show her discomfort.

"Give it more time," the older witch said gently. "This is your second day of school, after all. Now, hurry up, your friends have waited long enough."

Henry gave her a dazed "Thank you Professor" and hurried out of the classroom.

* * *

The library was a vast space of tall bookshelves that stretched on and on. It was much bigger than Henry had anticipated. Harry laughed beside her and told her to stop jumping like an overeager puppy.

While the twins marveled at the collection of books, Blaise and Draco found them seats. The Purebloods took the armchairs while the twins cozed up against each other on one of the two sofas.

They spent maybe two hours finishing today's homework before sneaking off to explore the library. Blaise and Draco took one look at each other and shook their heads.

"Look! _A History of Spells_." Harry opened it. "From between the years 1001 and 1898. Odd dates, but still cool." He flipped through a few pages. "These must be fourth-year spells or higher! Think we can learn them?"

"Only if they have instructions," replied Henry and took a look above his shoulder. "Aparecium sounds convenient." It was used to reveal hidden messages. Definitely something they needed in this place. "Let's take it with us."

They read through it together, jotting down spells and their functions as they went. The most useful ones were Alarte Ascendare, which sent the target flying; Aparecium; Appare Vestigium, a tracking spell that revealed traces of magic; Ascendio, which lifted the caster up in the air; and Capacious Extremis, which was the incantation for the Expansion Charm on their trunks. That one they definitely had to learn.

"Those are not first-year spells," Draco said. "Are you trying to learn them?"

"Yup," replied Henry, popping the p. "These are all convenient to know."

He looked through their notes and raised a sceptical eyebrow. "I'd rather you focus on defensive spells instead. You can never have too many. Especially you two."

They looked at him for a moment. Had Draco just expressed worry for their safety? Why? Was Lucius planning something already?

 _I hope not,_ Henry thought sourly. She didn't want the plot to derail more than it already had. If everything changed, she wasn't sure their preparations would ensure their survival. How did you plan for something you had no knowledge of?

"Snakelet, hatchling!"

 _Huh?_ They turned around to see Fred and George wave. They leaned on the back of the sofa, careful not to touch the first-years.

"How's school been?" Fred asked.

"Have you had Quirrell yet?" asked George.

"Oh no," whispered Draco and buried his face in his Potions book. Blaise greeted them with a nod, but otherwise ignored them.

"I had him yesterday," said Harry. "Barmy, he is. Can't stop looking at the windows like something's gonna attack. And he's shite at teaching."

"Yeah," sighed Fred. "We noticed too. Did you smell the garlic?"

Henry wrinkled her nose. "It's impossible not to. Half the class looked ready to puke then and there."

"His stuttering is annoying too," complained George. "I know he can't help it, so I try to ignore it, but great Merlin, it's driving me mad." Even Blaise and Draco nodded at that.

"Oh, have you had Potions yet?"

"I have it tomorrow," said Harry.

"Same," Henry replied.

"Brace yourselves," George warned. "Except you Henry, you're fine." At her odd look, he explained, "Snape would never take points from a Slytherin. He might give you detention instead, but he won't take points. Harry's kind of safe I guess, I mean he's not in Gryffindor."

Fred grinned. "You see, Snape hates Gryffindor. He takes points for ridiculous stuff. Once we stuffed his cauldron with powder. It blew up in his face—spectacular, I promise you—and he took ten points! Ten! For a harmless prank."

Draco groaned from behind his book. Blaise simply shook his head.

"What?" Fred looked at George. "Unwarranted, right?"

"Yep."

"I see he doesn't have humour," Harry offered. "Thanks for the warning though."

They grinned in reply. Then George noticed the book in Harry's lap. "What's that? Extra curricular studying? Sheez."

"Hey! Magic is awesome," the younger twins exclaimed.

"Don't you dare make fun of us," Henry pouted.

"Sorry sorry."

"Ah, we have to go," Fred said and nodded at Madam Pince. She was coming their way. "See you later!" They dashed off, laughing as they went.

Harry and Henry chuckled good-naturedly before returning to the book. They promised to meet on Saturday after breakfast to try the spells.

* * *

The longer into the evening they got, the more students tucked in for the night. At last it was only Henry's group and Pansy's trio left. Theo was the first to give in, having yawned every few minutes for two hours. Millicent excused herself too, and with her went Daphne.

Pansy looked like she wanted to say something to Draco, but Henry's presence made it hard. So Draco refused to move until Henry did, because he wasn't in the mood to confront the girl yet. He hadn't figured out the best way to talk to her about her behaviour.

"See you tomorrow," said Blaise at half past twelve. "Pansy, a word?" His dark gaze refused her to disobey. Finally she disappeared.

Henry let out an audible sigh.

"She's rather intense, isn't she?" said Draco apologetically. "I haven't spoken to her yet."

"It's not really your fault."

"I know but… you're both my friends."

Henry gave him a small smile. "How do people become friends, anyway?" She barely remembered her old ones, only blurry shapes without faces and voices. She and Harry hadn't had any before they came here.

"Uh. Good question." He frowned at the book in his lap. "If you like someone, and they find you pleasing as well… or maybe if you are both comfortable with each other and have similar interests, that's ground for friendship."

"Do we have similar interests?" Henry didn't know. She didn't remember much, if anything, of Draco's private life. What was his favourite colour? Did he still play with toys—did magical children do that at all?

The boy she'd read about had been a character on paper, words strung together to create a bully and rival to Harry. The boy in front of her was their friend, a somewhat clumsy boy she knew nothing about.

She had to change that.

"Hm… You like Potions, right?" She nodded. "I do too. It's the only thing we can practice without breaking the law. Father built me a potions lab, and I've made good use of it."

She hadn't known. She knew he was studious—though he complained at her and Harry's overachiever attitude, he took his homework seriously and almost always had one of the school books with him. But that had never translated as liking any of the subjects, not enough to dedicate a whole room to it.

 _It's like that fanfic,_ she remembered fondly. Her all-time favourite _Harry Potter_ fanfic had Harry, now a girl, obsessed with potions, one reason being it was the only "magic" a child was allowed to dabble in. It hadn't finished before she got here. The author had had eleven years since then—was it finished? She hoped it was. And she hoped it was as splendid as its potential made it out to be.

"What about Flying and Defence?" she asked.

Draco grinned boyishly. "We haven't even had the first lesson yet, how would I know? And come on, Defence is a joke. The Weasley twins weren't off about that." Offhandedly, he mumbled, "Maybe I should write to father about that too."

Henry snorted. How like him. Even with her putting a dent in the plot, some things never changed. At least he wasn't bullying people.

"Why do you laugh every time I say that? Is it really that funny?"

"It is. I apologise."

He rolled his eyes. "Apology accepted. But Henry… I'm sorry too, for today." He fidgeted with the end of a page. "I truly didn't mean to disrespect you, Harry or your mother. I… didn't think before I spoke."

"It's often like that, isn't it?" she whispered. "Using Mudblood for Muggleborns, I mean. What makes you think less of them? They don't look any different, do they?"

Draco fought with himself. Whatever he said, it would hurt or upset her. He didn't want that, but at the same time, she had asked a question. Surely she could take the answer.

"It's… How do I explain without you throwing hexes at me?"

She gave a laugh. "I don't know any hexes yet."

"Yeah, right," he scoffed. "I don't believe you, with all that extra studying you do. What's that for, either way?"

"We… grew up with Muggles. Our aunt and uncle, I mean. They never liked magic, mostly because Vernon—our uncle—never knew about it before he met mum and Petunia—our aunt." She looked into the dying fire.

Petunia was jealous of Lily. She was intelligent and good at magic, whereas Petunia was 100% Muggle, without a spec of magic in her. Whatever Lily did, their parents praised her. Wouldn't anyone, without proper knowledge, come to hate the very thought of magic? Henry didn't think ill of Petunia for hating Lily. She understood where she came from, but at the same time, if Dumbledore or anyone had just explained everything properly, things might have gone different, at least for Harry and her.

Vernon, on the other hand, was a typical Muggle. Born to two Muggle parents, he knew no one that was sent to Hogwarts and grew up as a boring man (which had nothing to do with his lack of belief). It was a miracle he even believed Petunia when she explained everything to him—and that he didn't send her and Harry to be examined by scientists as soon as their magic appeared.

"We always knew we were special. Our cousin, Dudley, feared what we could do. He couldn't replicate it at all. It was only us. When we got the letters…" She laughed quietly and without humour. "People like us? It was a dream come true. Finally people would understand. Or so I thought. I guess no society is perfect."

Draco was sure she wasn't aware, but he was ashamed of her words. _He_ was one of those people that shunned her and her mother.

"Mud— Muggleborns don't know anything about us," he said quietly, slowly, afraid she'd be upset. "About us, our rules or our societies. They hinder us in our education—why do you think first-years aren't allowed their own brooms? Why we even have a Flying class to begin with? Purebloods and even Halfbloods learn to fly at an early age. It's basically a requirement, though we seldom use it for anything other than sports."

"Many Muggles learn to ride a bike, not not all of them have a need for it." Ekängen had been far enough from the city that taking the bike wasn't worth it. Everyone out there owned a car, and the children took the bus. Only a select few took the bike to and from work. She'd only done so when she still went to middle school there, but any higher and she took the bus. When she'd grown older and enrolled in the local university, it had been on the other side of town. Biking then would have taken hours.

"I've seen them," said Draco. "Look bloody dangerous if you ask me."

She snorted. "And flying on a broom without safety measures isn't?"

He had the decency to blush.

"But okay, I get that introducing your society and traditions to outside people is vulnerable and dangerous. But this isn't Medieval Europe anymore; you're not about to burn at the stake."

What Draco said next chilled her. "People are fickle creatures. What they don't understand, they fear. It's the same for wizardkind as well."

Henry didn't have anything to say to that. He was right, people _were_ afraid of what they didn't understand. That was why, in her previous life, they weaved stories of creatures in the night, mean faeries that took your children, ate your friends and enslaved you for the fun of it. That's why gods existed—to explain the unexplained, to give humankind a sense of relief, safety, of understanding.

Gods may or may not have existed before, but in this world? If magic was possible, then surely they were, too.

 _What if it's the same as here?_ a quiet voice whispered.

It was a thought she wasn't ready to entertain yet. Just as she worried there were at least one world for every book written (meaning every author and the like were gods in their own right), the thought of _this_ world being the same as her old one terrified her.

What if she'd been born a true Muggle then, without knowledge of the magical world? There were fanfics out there that touched upon this very idea, of Harry's world being the real one, with JK Rowling as an exiled or whatever witch that wrote of his life. She vaguely remembered one where the heroine travelled back in time to Harry's fourth year and learned the magical world wasn't fiction, but reality.

Her fingers itched at the thought of seeing her parents and sibling (siblings?) again, of learning what happened to her. But at the same time, she wasn't their Henrietta anymore, if that had even been her name. Henry was Harry's sister now, and a witch.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked. "I'm sorry if what I said offended you."

"No, you're right." She shook her head to rid herself of her thoughts. "Muggles are dangerous. Without magic, they have found other ways to move society forward, other answers to their questions."

He nodded. "Mudbl— Muggleborns aren't pure. They defile our blood and make it weaker."

"Really? How many studies have been done on it?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It's just… fact. I mean, they aren't trained the way we are, aren't brought up the right way… and of course, they force their ways upon us."

His words reminded her of something she'd read once. "Wizardkind stopped developing because they thought they had reached the pinnacle," she murmured. "But the truth is, there are more answers than one, rarely is anything black and white."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She smiled sadly. "It means that for a society to become better, it must always develop. Never can it stop. And to do this, it's introduced to outside influences. I'm not saying all influences are good," she hastened to say at his horrified expression, "but a lot are. There are more than one magical society in the world, right?" He nodded. "Then it means there are more answers to questions, more solutions to problems, than one. The Amazonians might have a more effective medicine for werewolf transformations, or they might have the answer to a conundrum Britain's struggled with for centuries.

"We learn from each other, Draco. That's what schools and exchange programmes are for. Why can't society do the same?"

He sighed, taking in everything she just said. "Your words would hold more weight if they didn't come from someone brought up by Muggles."

She gave a dry smirk. "Everything I just said comes from Muggle society. I read it somewhere once. And who else is to realise this, when magicfolk aren't interested?"

"Touché…" Then he giggled. "How'd we go from hobbies to blood politics?"

She shrugged. "Sometimes, when you find a really good friend, the topic doesn't matter. As long as you enjoy it, you can talk about everything between heaven and earth."

Her words warmed him. "Thank you. I hope we'll stay friends."

"Me too."

He yawned loudly and rubbed his eyes. "How about we resume the conversation—about hobbies, not politics—tomorrow?"

"Sounds good."

They walked together until the corridor separated into different dorms.

"See you tomorrow," yawned Draco.

"Good night."

She opened the door to her room, only to find Pansy sitting on her bed, glaring at her. Not in the mood to deal with the girl, Henry averted her gaze and locked herself into the bathroom. The mirror beckoned her to come closer. What she saw was a deathly pale girl whose freckles and scars shone brightly against her skin, her green eyes illuminated by nothing. She looked tired. If only she could get some decent sleep.

She brushed her teeth and washed her face. Pansy was still sitting on her bed when Henry returned and changed into her pajamas.

"I don't understand what Draco sees in you," Pansy snapped. "Great Merlin, you're a _Halfblood_ and the reason the Dark Lord is dead."

Henry took a deep breath and sat on her own bed. "You make it sound bad that he's dead."

"Can you blame me? He wanted to change the world! No more blood traitors in our midst, no more dirty Mudbloods to sullen us. We don't need their technology; we're doing just fine without it!"

"Ever heard of racism?"

Pansy paused. "What?"

Why was Henry even surprised she didn't? "In the Muggle world, there's a word for people discriminating against the colour of people's skin. They're called racists and are looked down upon. But once upon a time, that ideology was fine. Black people were—and still are in some places—looked down on because of stereotypes created by racism. By not giving them a chance to prove themselves, they're forced into these stereotypes to survive. It's the same for Muggleborns. You treat them as lesser because of something they can't help. You force them into a position unfavourable to them. Why is it so hard to accept they can't change how they were born?"

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Nice little speech, Potter, but I don't care what happens to them. I want them gone from Hogwarts and my home. They steal our magic and our children."

"Pardon?" Steal their children? That was the first time Henry had heard of something like that. "What do you mean?"

"You're friends with the Weasley twins, so you gotta know they have loads of siblings."

"Five," Henry corrected.

"Whatever. They're one of few Pureblood families with so many children. Most of us only have one, maybe two. We can't have more."

"Maybe because you're inbred to the extreme?"

For a moment, Pansy didn't say anything. She was looking at Henry with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"How _dare_ you?" she screeched. "You disgusting Halfblood! What gives you the bloody right to say that? We're not inbred—we're preserving our blood and abilities!"

Henry didn't dare say anything. "Yeah, I apologise for my rudeness. Let's go to sleep now, Pansy. It's a long day tomorrow."

"I'm not sleeping with the likes of _you_. Leave."

"Excuse me? This is my room too."

"I'm the Pureblood here, _I'm_ not sleeping outside. You go sleep with that brother of yours." Under her breath Henry heard her say, "Why'd the Hat even let you in here?"

Henry took her wand and a blanket and her shoes and quietly left the dorm. The empty common room was too big to comfort her, rather it felt like she was drowning, so she left through the doorway.

* * *

She wandered the corridors aimlessly. Her feet took them wherever they felt like going. She was already way past the Great Hall and staircases, somewhere far away from any living creature. The corridors here weren't lit with torches anymore. They were drenched in darkness. To blend in, Henry's body turned black. When she first noticed, she wondered if it was okay, remembering her conversation about racism with Pansy. She decided it was, since she wasn't trying to be rude, just hide.

_Please allow me at least this._

Where was she, even? It was getting extremely cold, much more so than a few minutes ago. The outside must be close. Maybe someone left a window open.

She came to a thin, metallic spiral staircase. It looked precarious, like it wasn't supposed to be used, but she was curious and braved the first few steps either way. It complained a lot. In the compact silence, it screamed like it was dying, piercing her ears, almost making them bleed.

At the top hung a walkway, crisscrossing through the air. There were a lot of painted glass on the walls, throwing colourful shadows everywhere. It looked a bit like a cathedral. On the other side of the room (if she could call it that) was a platform. On the wall behind it hung clockwork. Actually, all around her pieces hung, some moving constantly while others were still.

 _Ah. The clocktower._ She couldn't remember Hogwarts having a giant clock, but at least in the third movie she had a vague memory of Harry hiding in one.

She walked across the walkway, not daring to look down, and stopped at the back of the clock. She looked out the painted glass but couldn't see much. The glass vibrated with light while the outside was pitch black.

It was so cold, but it kept her awake. She didn't want to sleep, didn't want more nightmares. She should have gone to Harry instead of here, but he needed his sleep. He must have an easier time falling asleep without her. She should be happy about it, but she only felt a pang of pain. It wasn't fair of her to wish he had as much of a problem like her, but it was hard to stop.

She jumped when another blanket fell on her shoulders.

"This must be the coldest place at Hogwarts, if you don't count the dungeons," Fred said quietly. "Honestly Henry, what are you doing here?"

She turned to look at the twins. They had thick, knitted turtlenecks thrown over their pajamas.

"Sorry."

They frowned in worry. George offered a hand. She didn't take it.

"You were hard to find this time," he said, "always moving around. Are you crying?"

She touched her cheek. Apparently she was. The cold had numbed her cheek ages ago, so she hadn't noticed.

"Henry, what happened?" asked Fred.

When she didn't reply, George crouched so he didn't tower over her. "Give me your hand, just for a moment." Reluctantly, she obeyed. He waved his wand above it and warmth flooded her system. "It's a Heating Charm," he explained. "Feeling better?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"Good." He stood again. "So, why are you wandering all of Hogwarts, crying?"

She averted her eyes for a moment. She wasn't in the mood to talk about Pansy. "Nightmare."

"Must have been a bad one. Let's get you back."

She shook her head. What would Pansy do if she returned? "I can't. I don't want to. It's… it's uncomfortable."

Fred and George exchanged troubled looks. "Then," Fred said, "how about that tour?"

She nodded. George pulled at her hand still holding his. "Then let's go."

They didn't talk much as they snuck back to the warmer parts of the castle, avoiding Filch and Mrs Norris, teachers and Prefects as they went. Once they nearly ran into Quirrell. He kept muttering things to himself. It sounded like potions ingredients.

"He didn't stammer," Fred whispered as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Maybe he only does it when he's nervous?" George suggested.

 _Or because he doesn't want anyone to suspect he's got Voldemort on his head._ But she wasn't about to tell them that. Meeting Quirrell only reminded her of her mission. She had to do something about the Philosopher's Stone. She no longer remembered exactly when in the book Harry got it, but she remembered he wore the knitted shirt Mrs Weasley gave him at Christmas. Of all things to remember…

"This is the abandoned part," mumbled Fred. "See the torches? If they're not lit, it means these corridors and classrooms aren't in use."

"We usually try out our pranks here," George told her. "Before we use them on others."

"Others?" Henry gave them a suspicious look. Were they saying they experimented on themselves? How reckless!

"Nah, we use dummies first," Fred assured her.

"Yes, and when we stop blowing them up or dismember them, we try it on ourselves or Lee."

Speaking of the boy, she hadn't seen him yet.

"That's because he usually doesn't traverse the castle in the dead of night."

"Unless, of course, there's a prank." George winked. Henry rolled her eyes.

They kept going. The twins showed her a few hidden passages and where they went. Once they walked past where she was sure the Room of Requirement lay hidden. She promised herself to come back for it. If Pansy tried to chase her away from the dorm again, Henry could always sleep there.

Dawn broke the horizon. Henry and the boys stopped to admire the changing colours in the sky.

"I'm sorry I kept you up."

They shook their heads.

"It was fun," said Fred, "and it's not like we haven't done it before."

"Yeah. Just try and get some sleep every once in a while, okay? Otherwise we might fall off the brooms at Quidditch practice." They laughed at Henry's horrified expression.

"We're joking, sorry sorry."

She pouted. "That's mean! You could actually die if you fall off them."

They sheepishly apologised.

"But… Why and how do you find me every night? You could just ignore me."

Fred glanced at George. He returned the gaze and a silent conversation followed. Slowly, they turned back to her.

It was Fred that spoke. "We like you, you know. You remind us of both Ron and Ginny, our little sister."

"So I guess you're like a little sister too," continued George. "It's like… I don't know, we worry about you, especially when we find you roaming Hogwarts every night."

"Are you really alright? Is Slytherin treating you right?"

She smiled, but it wilted immediately. She had no energy to pretend to be happy. "Most of them, yes. Draco holds a lot of influence. They don't want to risk the wrath of his father, so they don't do anything to me."

The scheming look that passed over Fred and George could only mean the snakes had just doomed themselves to an epic prank.

"Thank you for caring for me. I appreciate it."

"Of course!" they said in unison. Fred added, "You're our friend, Henry, and that means we take care of each other."

"I haven't cared for you yet," she pointed out.

George waved her words away. "A time will come, I'm sure. Until then, you might want to ask Madam Pomfrey for a Sleeping Potion or something."

She remembered how serene she'd felt after the Calming Draught. She'd rather have that one. "Good idea. I'll pay her a visit during lunch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that I think about it, we're six chapters in and they've just started school. Did someone say slow-burn? Oopsie~


	7. Sleepless

_** Warning: ** _ **Bullying.**

The chest at the foot of her bed was wide open. Her things were strewn around and both her uniforms were missing.

Pansy walked out from the bathroom and smirked. "Had a boggart visit you?" she laughed.

Henry ignored her and began sorting her things. Her books had survived, as well as her equipment, but her clothes were damp—had Pansy thrown them into the bathroom sink?

"Let's go," said Pansy and exited the room. Daphne and Millicent gave Henry a pitiful look each and hurried after her.

Right before closing the door, Daphne whispered, "Aer Calidus. Wide circle and a straight line in the middle. Start at the bottom."

Henry blinked. Daphne had just helped her, hadn't she? Slowly, she took out her wand and performed the spell, wishing heat to emit from the wand to dry her clothes. It worked on the third try.

She missed breakfast. It took so long to dry the clothes that by the time she was done, everyone returned. They had Defence, so Henry grabbed her book and followed Draco and Blaise to the classroom. They didn't say anything about her being missing. She learned from Blaise why that was.

"Did you get a good night's rest?" he asked. "Pansy, Daphne and Millicent said you were still asleep when they left."

So that's what happened. Pansy lied so she wouldn't get in trouble. What a nasty girl. Henry had to step up her game and learn some new spells if she wanted to survive.

"No, it was fitful, I'm afraid."

Quirrell was back to his pathetic attempt at stammering. They finished the chapter on imps and moved on to ghosts. Since they had quite a few at Hogwarts, it was an interesting topic, but Quirrell made it hard to concentrate.

Then came the class she'd been waiting for. Potions. Finally she was about to learn it herself. She'd been reading up on it between homework and the other extra curricular stuff she researched with Harry. She wasn't a Mistress, but she was sure she knew at least enough to survive the first few lessons.

They had Potions with Gryffindor today. Draco and Blaise saw Hermione sitting alone and left Henry to sit with her. It had only been three days of school and they had already learned Henry was going to sit with the girl every joint class. She thanked them for being so understanding.

"What happened to _you_?" asked Hermione when she saw her.

"Good morning to you too," said Henry with a yawn. "Slept well?"

"Better than you. Honestly, you look sick. Are you alright?"

"Have been better. I have trouble falling asleep."

Hermione looked like she wanted to say something else, but at that moment, Snape opened the doors. It was the first time Henry got a good look at him since the introduction. His black hair was greasy, his tall form scrawny. He didn't look thirty, he looked older, with a sharp nose and yellow teeth she could see even from this distance. And of course, he wore his signature black clothes.

"You are to address me as Master or Professor Snape, anything else will lose you House points," he said, not bothering to greet them. "Potions is a craft. It's the only subject taught that you can legally try at home. Depending on your skills and willingness to learn, I can help you achieve the impossible. I can teach you how to brew death and bottle fame." He looked right at Henry, who blinked but didn't look away. "Now, let's start the lesson with something even toddlers can brew: the Cure for Boils."

He had the recipe written on the blackboard as well as the page number. Henry looked it up in the book. She needed six snake fangs, four horned slugs and two porcupine quills.

"Where's your flobberworm mucus?" asked Hermione. Henry had just come back from collecting her ingredients.

"What? Those aren't in the recipe."

"Um. They are." She pointed at the blackboard.

Henry double checked the book. Were there more than one recipe for the potion? And the one Snape had written had more ingredients—why? Confused, she held up her arm. He was by her side within moments.

"Yes, Miss Potter?"

"I was wondering, Professor, why the recipe you've written and the one in the book are different."

The students closest to them stopped what they were doing to look at them in bewilderment.

"There are two recipes," replied Snape. "One from your book and another from the _Book of Potions_. Decide on your own which one you'll use."

She blinked. That was it? No explanation as to why he showed them both? Why there were even two to begin with?

_Arse._

"Let me gauge your knowledge, Miss Potter," Snape sneered and turned to face her again. "Where can you find a bezoar?"

It took a moment for Henry to recognise the question. "In a goat's stomach?"

"Sir."

"You don't have to call me sir, Professor." It was out before she could stop herself. While the class fought not to laugh and Snape debated whether or not deducting points from his own House was worth it or not, Henry silently apologised to Harry for stealing his comeback.

"Very funny, Miss Potter. One point from Slytherin. Now tell me, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"The name," she replied cheekily. "They're the same plant, Professor, also known as aconite." Even after eleven years, she remembered the answers without her textbook. She was proud of it too.

"Good answer. One point to Slytherin for your excellent answer. And one point from Slytherin for your attitude."

She could feel the incredulous stares of her Housemates on her. For the first time, she didn't care. Making fun of Snape was worth it.

"What, Miss Potter, would I get if I added a powder root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Snape snapped, his dark eyes flashing angrily.

"That's not first-year material, Professor." She clicked her tongue. Hermione dropped her jaw. "Is there a particular reason you ask a question even fourth-years have problems answering?"

Snape had the audacity to roll his eyes. "It seems fame has clouded your judgement, Miss Potter. One more point from Slytherin."

"Oh? For what, if I may ask?"

"For talking back to a teacher."

"You mean for asking a legitimate question." She nearly rolled her eyes herself this time. "Professor, if you have an infusion of wormwood and add the powder root of asphodel to it, you get the Draught of Living Death. It puts the drinker into such a heavy sleep there's a chance they won't wake up. This is a sixth-year N.E.W.T. level potion, _sir_ , and not a question to ask a first-year witch with Muggle upbringing that's been here for _four days_." She glared at him. "Are you done? Will you stop harassing me now?"

"Detention," was his final answer. "See me at 10AM this Saturday, Miss Potter."

She was speaking to Dumbledore before that. No way she was taking his crap lying down. "As you wish, Professor. Can I return to my potion now?"

"That was stupid," said Hermione after Snape left. "Why did you do that? You lost your House three points!"

"Wrong. I lost us two points and got detention." She gave Hermione a big grin. "Now, let's make the most perfect samples of the Cure for Boils."

* * *

Henry excused herself during lunch. She needed to talk to Madam Pomfrey about the Calming Draught. Draco wasn't having any of it, though. He was aghast she was thinking of skipping lunch when she didn't have time to eat breakfast.

"You're going to faint at this rate," he warned her on their way from the dungeons. "And don't expect me to catch you!"

"It's fine, I'll grab something real quick when I come back. Promise."

His worries fell on deaf ears and she bid him, Blaise and Hermione goodbye. The trio stood there, left in the dust, and Draco cursed.

"She's mad. Granger, do we have more classes with you today?"

Hermione stared at him, surprised he knew her name. "No, we don't."

"Drat. I guess I have to smuggle her something, then." He caught Blaise's amused smirk. "Anything you want to say, Zabini?"

"No. Your loyalty is admirable."

"Shut _up_."

While they bickered, Henry quickly made her way to the Hospital Wing. It was calm this time of the day, and the beds gaped empty. She'd be worried if they were filled with students on the fourth day though.

"Hello," she greeted Madam Pomfrey, who was puffing the pillow on a bed. "Is it okay if I ask you something?"

"Of course, dear. What's your name?"

"Henrietta Potter, Madam."

"I see. Let's go to my office." The older witch gave her a kind smile and showed her into a room off the side. It led to a corridor with several other rooms, probably for storage.

The office was a square little room with stone flooring and bright walls. Madam Pomfrey had a desk and two chairs, one which she offered Henry.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"Fred and George told me to ask for a Sleeping Draught."

The woman's eyebrows rose. "Why?"

Henry explained she couldn't sleep, and why that was. She was embarrassed, but Madam Pomfrey assured her it was nothing to be upset about.

"I remember your Sorting," the witch said while filling out some kind of form. "You had a panic attack then. Does that happen often?"

"More than I'd like," Henry muttered. Then she realised how bad that sounded. "No, uh… I get them every once in a while but, I'm not _that_ bad, uh… I'm just gonna… gonna keep quiet… yeah…"

Madam Pomfrey patted her on the shoulder. When she noticed how stiff Henry went, she apologised. Quickly she wrote down her observation as well.

"How often do you get these attacks? It's fine if you don't know exactly, but please at least guess."

Henry cocked her head to the side, trying to count them all. "Around two or three times a month…? Depends on what happens, really." She bit her lip and began fidgeting with the end on her skirt. "Am I weird? For panicking so easily?"

"Nonsense. It's nothing unusual, and we can fix that with a healthy dose of the Calming Draught. I will prescribe you a vial and show you how to dosage it. The same for the Sleeping Draught, which you will also need. And Miss Potter, please stop wandering around school at night. It's dangerous and you will get in trouble if you're found out."

Henry gave her a sheepish smile. "Please don't tell the Professors. I'm in enough trouble with Snape as it is."

Madam Pomfrey wanted to ask what had happened, but figured the girl would have told her if it had anything to do with the Draughts she was prescribing.

"I promise, as long as you keep to your bed." Henry promised, and they went on to talk about the Draughts and what dose she should take for each and when. Henry left with a vial of both in her pocket and a note with instructions. She thanked the medi-witch a thousand times for her help.

Lunch ended just as she reached the Great Hall. Her stomach protested loudly. If she had known the way to the kitchen, she would have stopped by to ask the house-elves for a sandwich. A sandwich Draco now showed her discreetly.

"Thank you," she said in surprise. He dragged her away from prying eyes.

"You have thirty minutes," he said. "Let's go."

* * *

After History of Magic, Henry needed some time for herself. She promised Harry she'd see him before curfew to show him something secret (which made him very happy) and then trotted off to the Black Lake. It was chilly outside, a sign autumn neared, and the lake was as black as oil. She moved away from the castle where everyone could see her and walked by the shoreline until she came upon a mossy stump. She sat on it and smiled at the view of the castle.

Closing her eyes, she breathed in the crisp air. It filled her lungs and worked just as effectively as the Calming Draught.

A low bark caught her attention. Behind her sat Sirius, looking at her with solemn eyes. She hadn't expected to see him here. He must have apparated.

"Hello there, boy," she called gently and offered her hand. He happily wagged his tail and sniffed it. Then he licked her fingers. "I've missed you too. I hope you've been well." She hunched down to hug him. He pressed his snout against her throat.

Sitting on the ground, hugging Sirius like this, opened a floodgate of tears. She couldn't help but spill her guts to him. She told him how horrible things were, that the only upside was her nightly adventures with Fred and George, her three friends in Slytherin and seeing Harry once a day. Everything else hurt.

"And now I've been prescribed medicine to help me cope. After _four days_. How pathetic isn't that?" she sobbed. "I hope Harry has it easier than me. By Merlin's beard, please."

Sirius barked as gently as he could.

"Trying to cheer me up? Thank you." She bopped her nose to his. Then she stood. "Let's take a walk." He followed her to the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. She hadn't seen Daycrusher for days now. Meeting Sirius had reminded her of the snake and she felt obligated to check on it.

She would have paid good money to see Sirius' human reaction when she began speaking in Parseltongue. " _Daycrusssher, can you hear me?"_

" _Yesss, ssspeaker,"_ came the reply after a few minutes of silence. " _Do you require my asssissstance?"_

" _No, jussst wanted to check in. How are you?"_

Daycrusher was fine. The Forest was a nice place to live, with lots of food and places to hide. He glanced at Sirius. " _And who isss thisss?"_

" _Sssiriusss, my godfather. He doesssn't know that I know."_

" _Then I'll keep it a sssecret."_

" _Thank you."_ She took a look at the poor man herself. His eyes were going between them. Probably he was surprised to learn she had such a Dark ability. Well, borrowed. " _Daycrusssher, can I ask you to take a look at something?"_

" _Sssure."_

" _There'sss a three-headed Hellhound in the third floor corridor. It'sss guarding sssomething. Can you eavesssdrop on the teachersss?"_

" _For how long?"_

" _Let'sss sssay a week. And pleassse be careful."_

" _Of courssse, ssspeaker. Anything elssse?"_

" _No. I'll bring you a sssnack next time."_

She returned to the castle. Sirius followed her to Hagrid's hut before disappearing. Hopefully he'd come back. Being with him calmed her down.

* * *

"What?" asked Harry an hour later. "Darn! I wanted to see him too."

"Sorry," Henry murmured. "Did you memorise all the spells?" She nodded at the Charms book in front of him. They were in the library.

The spells they needed to know were Wingardium Leviosa, Spongify, Incendio, Lumos and Nox, Alohomora and Colloportus, Flipendo, Diffindo, Reparo, the Ice Jinx and how to make a pineapple dance. Except for the last spell, they were all useful. A bit weak when fighting Voldemort, but a good start. They would work perfectly on Pansy though.

The sun was long gone by the time they learned Nox. Having cracked the code to spellcasting (i.e. focus and intent) didn't mean it was easy still. You had to control how much magic you put in the spell. They were thrown out of the library when Harry put too much force into Lumos and ended up blinding half the students—and Madam Pince.

Harry bid Henry goodbye after that. Unlike her, he didn't have class at midnight, and he was tired from a whole day of school.

"See you at lunch," he said with a hug.

The Weasley twins found her sitting in a corridor an hour later, reading about potions. Honestly, it was fascinating what magicfolk could do. There was the Aging and De-Aging Potions, Felix Felicis, Draught of Living Death, Amortentia, Veritaserum and many more she didn't know about.

"'Add two drops of Lethe River Water to your cauldron… Gently heat for twenty seconds… Add two Valerian sprigs to your cauldron… Stir three times, clockwise…"

"Is that for the Forgetfulness Potion?" asked Fred. He snuck a peek in her book and nodded thoughtfully. "Reading ahead, are we?"

"Of course. Snape loathes me, so might as well."

"Odd motivation, but sure," George grinned. "I take it your first lesson didn't end well?"

"Lost Slytherin two points and landed myself in detention."

"Fabulous." Henry grinned at Fred's upbeat tone.

"Whatcha doing here, then?" she asked. "Worried I've been sitting here for too long?" She looked at their pockets and hands. No sight of the Marauder's Map.

Apparently they were on their way for a late night snack. Since she was tired and hungry, she joined them. On their way to the kitchen, she made sure to memorise the way in case she needed it.

"Did you talk to Madam Pomfrey?" asked Fred.

"Yeah, got the Sleeping Draught and Calming Draught prescribed. I feel a bit like a psycho, but I need them, so I'm not saying no." A vague memory of antidepressants floated around in her mind before sinking back into darkness. Maybe she'd always had these troubles? Hopefully the potions worked just like Muggle medicine.

"There's nothing wrong with needing help," George stated, no longer smiling. "I've read up on it, actually."

Fred grinned like a smug cat. "You wouldn't _believe_ how many books on Muggle psychology he's devoured today. I didn't know he could read that fast."

"Excuse you." George looked genuinely offended at that. "I was worried about our beloved snakelet, how dare you insult me?"

Fred and Henry had a good laugh at his expense.

"Hey, I'm serious! There's nothing wrong with needing medicine." He looked at Henry. "People are different and their brains aren't always the same. So take the Draughts and go to sleep."

She took a good look at them then. Their dark circles looked just like hers, meaning they got about as much sleep as her—none.

"I'm sorry. You should stop running after me…"

Fred gave her a hard look. "No way. You're stuck with us now."

"Thanks."

"So, why are you up so late? And sitting here of all places." They laughed heartily after hearing the story of Madam Pince shouting curses as they fled the library.

"That's brilliant," said Fred. "Merlin would be proud."

"Not so sure about that," laughed Henry.

"Oh! By the way, we're going to Hogsmead soon. Do you want anything?" George's grin covered half his face. "Have you ever heard of it?"

"From a couple older students," she lied. "They said something about lots of candy."

"Ha, you could say that again. Honeydukes is famous for its assortment of sweets. Anything in particular you're interested in?"

She didn't remember a lot of their products. She _was_ collecting the Chocolate Frog cards and as such wanted them, but other than that, her memory betrayed her.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do."

She looked at him. "What?" He was going to buy her something? "You don't have to waste money on me, George."

"Bah, why not? We're friends."

"Yeah, but… I can't buy you anything."

He ruffled her hair without thinking. She decided not to correct him this time. "See it as an early Christmas present."

"Or late birthday," Fred added.

"You're weird." Henry laughed quietly. "But you've raised my mood, so thanks."

"Of course. Wanna learn a useful spell?" Fred sat cross-legged in front of her. "Ever heard of Ebublio?" She shook her head. "Good! It traps the target in a bubble they can't break." He showed her the movement, a lowercase e. They had her practice it until she got it completely right.

"Ebublio," she said, imagining encasing Fred in a giant bubble. Nothing happened. "Again. Ebublio." A tiny blue spark shot out from the wand. " _Ebublio_!"

Fred yelped as he got stuck in the bubble.

"Uh. What's the counterspell…?"

"Drat." George pulled out his own wand. "Ruptis." Henry watched as he moved the wand into a lowercase r. The bubble burst without ceremony.

"You got another one?" Henry asked excitedly.

Seeing the joy it brought her, they taught her Engorgio and Reducio as well. When she asked for a healing spell, they showed her Episkey.

"I have to go now," she said as the clock neared midnight. "I have Astronomy soon."

"We'll walk you," Fred offered.

Astronomy was more calming than she had imagined. Watching star signs and reading up on their symbolic meaning, their arrangements and whatnot proved far more entertaining than anything else she had encountered. Watching stars had always been a hobby of hers. They were so far away, the lights illuminating the world even before magic and fire were harnessed.

She returned to bed at 1:30AM, wishing for at least one night's good rest. The door, when she pulled it, didn't budge. Blinking, she tried again.

"Pansy? Are you kidding me?" she called. "Let me in!"

"Why are you making a ruckus in the middle of the night?" came Pansy's angry reply. "Leave me alone!"

"This is my room as much as yours, bitch! Alohomora." The door opened and Henry gave Pansy a mean glare. "You're so pathetic."

"Says the girl trying to steal Draco away!"

"What?" Steal who? From who? _Her_? "Why can't I be friends with him? He approached me first!"

"Because you're filthy. You hang around that Mudblood Ginger or whatever."

"Hermione Granger, and don't call her that. She's ten times better than you. That blood of yours doesn't do shite."

Pansy gasped. "You… you filthy daughter of a Mudblood!"

 _Don't do it don't do it don't do it._ She wasn't about to hurt her. She wasn't about to lose her House more points. She wasn't about to lower herself to Pansy's level. She was better than her. Better than all of them.

"At least my mother had common sense."

"Get _out_!" Pansy shrieked. "Or I'll make you, you cow!"

"Who's the cow?" Henry muttered loud enough for Pansy to hear. She gathered her pajamas and toiletries. "Fuck off." She closed the door hard enough to make it rattle.

Only a handful of students were left in the common room, all seeing her mad dash for the exit. They didn't stop her, but one called out to make sure she didn't get caught and lose them points.

 _Sod off,_ she wanted to hiss, but refrained. There was no reason to take her anger out on them.

She made her way to Harry's common room. The door handed her a riddle:

_Only one colour, but not one size,_

_Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies._

_Present in the sun, but not in rain,_

_Doing no harm, and feeling no pain._

_What is it?_

She spent a few minutes figuring it out, going through the hints in her brain and settled for "shadow" (which was correct) and hurried through the entrance. The room was dark and empty, thank Merlin for that.

"Alohomora," she whispered and opened the door to Harry's dorm. "Harry, wake up."

"I am," he muttered sleepily. "Can't sleep?"

"Almost. Come here."

He made sure the others were asleep before tiptoeing after her to the common room. He nearly went to Dumbledore after hearing what Pansy did.

"Forget about her, I'll take care of it in due time," Henry assured him. "Rather, you remember I said I wanted to show you something this Saturday?"

"Yeah. You were really excited."

"Exactly. Well, we're going now. Get your things."

"My— My things? What things?"

"A change of clothes and your toiletries."

For a moment, Harry thought she'd gone mad. Then he remembered it was Henry he was dealing with and sighed in defeat. It only took him five minutes to gather what he needed before he followed her to the seventh floor. His trust in her sanity was again put on test when she began walking back and forth three times.

"Henry, I'm sure Madam Pomfrey has a—"

A door slowly appeared on the wall.

"What the bloody hell?"

Henry grinned at him. "I'm perfectly fine, dear brother. I took my Calming Draught on the way here. And Madam Pomfrey has already prescribed me medicine to cope."

"Cope?" He nearly shrieked the word. Henry didn't answer and opened the big, carved doors instead. Inside was a huge bedroom, with another door to the left. It was a bathroom. "Henry, what do you mean _cope_?"

"Oh, nothing important, I just think I'm depressed or have anxiety or something. That's why I get all those panic attacks. Or I might have a diagnosis, I dunno. Whatever it is, I've got the Calming Draught and the Sleeping Draught for it. But I don't need that now that we have this room."

Harry's mind reeled with all this new information. He was hurt she hadn't told him about the potions before, or that she'd asked for help. Had she slept at all these last nights? _He_ had slept, though it was a miracle. His sleep had been fitful and he'd woken about a dozen times a night, but at least he _could_.

"Oh, Henry. Why didn't you tell me?" He hugged her from behind. "Please. Please tell me next time. I can help you, you know that."

She shrank a bit. "I know. It's just… I dunno, I forget."

Was he really that unreliable? So unreliable she didn't even consider asking him?

"Of course not," she scoffed. Harry was the only good constant in her life. He kept her grounded in reality. He was the reason she woke up and endured Pansy's harassment.

"Thanks, but your actions tell a different story."

"Then I'll… I'll be better. I'll try to… to ask for help. To tell you more about… about everything."

He was making sure she kept her word this time. "Good. Now, where are we?"

"The Room of Requirement." She quickly explained what it was and how it worked. "And before you ask—yes it's from my dreams."

"I still haven't forgotten those books you mentioned. Are they, like, prophetic?"

She grimaced. Of all the times to bring that up, two in the morning was _not_ the right one. "Can we talk about that some other time? I really wanna go to sleep."

But Harry wasn't interested in that. He'd waited all his life for an explanation that wasn't "I just know" or "I have dreams".

Henry hesitated. This was something even more unbelievable than magic and dragons. This was earth-shattering. He might actually think her mad if she told him, and then what? She'd lose him forever. She couldn't let that happen. He was her anchor, the reason she hadn't gone mad years ago. If he left her now… those Draughts wouldn't be able to help her.

"Henry. Henry, do you really believe it will be weirder than literal magic? We can _brew death_. There are _ghosts_. You're a shapeshifter! What can be weirder than that?"

She bit her lip. Was it now or never? Would he hate her if she rejected him? If she kept quiet? Probably. But he'd get over it. She hoped.

She was about to say "nothing", she really was. Then she saw his eyes, how they begged her to let him in, and she caved.

"They're memories," she whispered. Her heart jerked and she sat down on the bed. Harry was quick to put his arms around her.

"Memories?" he coaxed. "How?"

"I… I have memories of a past life. Or something." She meant to laugh in defeat. A sob escaped instead. "I don't remember much of it anymore, just bits and pieces. It's been eleven years after all." She sobbed again. Harry's arms tightened around her.

"Take a deep breath." She did.

"I remember there was a book series I loved. It was called _Harry Potter_ and written in the 90s. They followed a boy that learned he was a wizard. He was taken to a school for magical people. While there, he learned about magic, himself and that the megalomaniac that killed his parents was out to kill him."

Harry couldn't believe his ears. She was reborn? That was fine. They had magic and ghosts and stuff—reincarnation wasn't an impossibility. But the books? That was weird. Scary, even. Did that mean she came from another universe? Was she really his sister?

"So… so you've been using these books to help… me?" he asked carefully. She nodded. A bitter laugh escaped.

"Mad, isn't it? I, a Muggle in a world where magic probably didn't exist, was reborn as the sister of the hero I admired as a child. Impossible, right?" She pursed her lips, waiting for him to scorn her.

"Are you sure about that?" She looked at him in surprise. He gave a small smile. "I mean, we're magical. Snape said we can bottle fame. For God's sake, there's a Sleeping Beauty potion. Reincarnation probably isn't impossible. I mean, _you_ did it, of course it isn't." He hesitated. "Have you ever seen me as your brother?"

"What? Of course! You're my only family." She kept babbling about how hard it had been to accept her new surroundings, how he had kept her alive, and Harry knew she loved him like she loved her previous family.

"Wait a moment," he said, interrupting her monologue. "You said you weren't sure if it was a past life, right? What'd you mean by that?"

It was hard to explain, but the fact was she didn't know if she'd died or not. One day she had simply woken up in the crib beside him, just in time to see Lily die.

"So, you think this is a dream?"

"I did at first. But now eleven years have passed and I'm sure I was in fact taken to another dimension." It wasn't the right time to tell him about her theories. He had enough dealing with this.

"Honestly, _magic_." He shook his head. "Alright, walk me through it: does your knowledge have to do with your constant panic attacks?"

"Probably," she admitted. She explained the plot of the first book, how Voldemort took possession of a teacher to get a hold of the Philosopher's Stone, but ultimately failed because Harry got to it first.

"And where were all the teachers?"

"Well… They didn't know until after you got rid of Voldemort," she said sheepishly. "They kind of didn't believe you."

"Alright," Harry sighed, "Who's the teacher I have to look out for?"

"Quirrell."

He burst out laughing. "What? That stuttering Defence teacher?" He stopped laughing when she didn't partake. "You're serious."

"Yeah. His stammering is subpar at best. Fred, George and I stumbled upon him last night or something and he wasn't doing it then. It's all an act."  
"Bloody hell. What do we do?"

"My initial plan was to take the Stone before he got to it."

"And when's that?" He face-palmed when she said she didn't remember.

"It's been like thirteen years since I finished the series last, Harry. I know very well I'm lacking."

"No, you're right, and I'm not holding it against _you_ , I'm just… really not in the mood to be a hero."

She smirked. "You're nothing like your book counterpart. Well, the sass is the same, I guess, but he was Sorted into Gryffindor."

"Ha, what? He was?" Harry couldn't imagine himself there. They were too loud, too energetic. He liked the Weasley twins enough, they always greeted him whenever they saw him, but that was about it.

"And Ron Weasley was his best friend, Hermione too… and he was enemies with Draco."

"Hold your horses—really?" She nodded. "Wow, that's… I can't even imagine."

"Let's just say I saved us a lot of grief by taking precautions first." They laughed at that. "Thanks, for not saying I'm crazy."

He hugged her again. "Of course not. You're my sister, my only family. I love you to the moon and back. And it's kind of exciting, all this prophecy stuff. Tiring, but exciting. I'll go read up on it tomorrow afternoon."

"Thanks."

"Again, I'm your brother. I'll help you sort this out. But Henry… I'm really not a hero."

She grinned. Her Harry and Rowling's Harry weren't the same, but in all honesty, she liked hers better. So what if he wasn't the hero Dumbledore wanted? Together, they could still fix this and live.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I can't relate to Henry here. I can't not fall asleep. I'm dead tired all the time, and if it wasn't for the fact I literally cannot fall asleep in broad daylight (or any light at all), I fear I would sleep standing...


	8. Bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I try to mix the fluff with the dark stuff, I swear.

_**Warning: ** _ **Bullying (it gets better, I promise. Pansy gets what's coming for her).**

The Herbicide Potion required four lionfish spines, two measurements of Standard Ingredient (which was a mix of different herbs), two measures of Horklump juice and two blobs of flobberworm mucus. It was a poisonous potion that damaged or killed plants—and made people sick if they drank it. Henry wanted to make it in case it worked against the Devil's Snare.

She marked the page in her textbook before moving on to Charms again. She still had Colloportus, Flipendo, Diffindo, Reparo, the Ice Jinx and how to make a pineapple dance left to learn. There was thirty minutes left of lunch break, and then Flying with Gryffindor started. She wasn't looking forward to it. Her acrophobia hadn't lessened since their flight with Hagrid all those years ago.

Speaking of him, he got a dragon in their first year, didn't he? She probably had to do something about it. Might as well pay him a visit after school.

Flipendo, also known as the Knockback Jinx, was primarily used in duelling. The wand movement was an outdrawn V with a tail. She was hiding in the Room of Requirement after excusing herself from her friends, and it was the perfect place for practice.

 _I wish for a dummy to test my spells on._ Within moments, one appeared. She coaxed her magic to her fingertips and into her wand and pictured the dummy flying backwards.

"Flipendo!" she cried. Her magic forced itself out of the wand and knocked the dummy back a few centimetres. It wasn't much, but it was something. Next, she tried Ebublio again. It took her four times until the bubble held. Fred and George forgot to mention it could burst if she wasn't careful.

Since she was sure she'd mastered Ebublio, she went back to Flipendo. Before her thirty minutes were up, she'd learned it. Happy and excited, she skipped down to her next class.

"What's made you so giddy?" asked Draco.

"I learned a new spell."

"Well—congratulations. Which one?"

"Flipendo."

"Can you teach me that one? I'm having trouble with it." She promised she was free that afternoon (after her visit to Hagrid), and that he should meet her outside one of the abandoned classrooms.

Madam Hooch strode out of the castle, her yellow eyes glowing slightly in the sunlight. She looked the same as in the movies, with short, white spiky hair and a rectangular face. She looked stern, but not like Snape or Professor McGonagall.

"We're doing something simple today," she said, her yellow eyes scanning them, stopping on Henry. She arched a brow but didn't comment. "You see the brooms? Command them to your hands. All you have to do is say 'up' and direct your magic to your hands. Come on, with conviction!"

Henry held out her hand and said, "Up!" The broom vibrated, but didn't lift. "Up!" Next time she tried, she pictured the broom lifting into her grip. Without her command, her magic bled into her hands, dripping onto the broom. " _Up_!" The piece of wood nearly broke her wrist in its haste to get to her hand, but she made it.

Hermione gave her an impressed look. "Up!" she said to her wriggling broom. She sighed. "Up!"

Henry turned to look at Ron just in time to see his broom spectacularly hit him in the face. All the Slytherins laughed, but it was her he glared at. She was sure he'd be nicer if she'd been in any other House than Slytherin. Which hurt, but not too much for her to bother. Pansy's mean glares took priority. But she had to do something about Ron. He was one of the best characters in the series, and Harry's best friend.

"How did you get it to listen to you?" sighed Hermione.

"I imagined the broom flying into my hands. You have to focus on the intent—remember what Professor Flitwick said."

The girl nodded. A look of concentration flashed in her eyes. "Up!" Hermione almost shouted, and gasped when the broom obeyed. "Finally!" They giggled together.

Henry looked over at Blaise, Theo and Draco. Blaise already had his broom and was smiling in amusement at Theo's attempt at coaxing his broom. It just squirmed on the ground.

Draco was looking at her though. Then at Hermione. Then he looked at his broom. "Up." It gently obeyed.

"What was that about?" Henry asked herself.

Hermione looked between her and Draco. "Maybe he doesn't like that you're with me."

"Aw, come on, I sit by his side every lesson we don't share with anyone. Except Hufflepuff, because I don't know anyone there."

Hermione shrugged. She had only spoken once to Draco. She wasn't an expert on his behaviour; it was up to Henry to figure it out.

"Have you hung out with him?" she asked carefully.

Henry paused. They _had_ had a deep conversation a few nights ago, but that was about it. Oh. Was he lonely? Felt neglected? She had to change that, then. Quickly, she excused herself, handing Hermione her broom, and walked up to Draco.

"What?" he asked. "Something wrong?"

"Nope," she replied, popping the p. "Just wondered if you wanted to spend some time tomorrow afternoon."

"Sure, I'll ask the others."

"I was referring to just the two of us, but if that makes you happy, then shoot."

He looked at her in mild surprise before blooming into a grin. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."

"Good. Then see you after Herbology." She turned back to him. "Do you know any wizarding games? I'm kind of curious about them."

"I'll bring some."

Hermione was grinning in amusement when she returned. She handed Henry back her broom.

Madam Hooch turned her attention on a poor Gryffindor, and Henry saw Ron kneel and pick up his broom with a scowl. She quelled a giggle, but again locked eyes with Draco, who was chuckling with Blaise. This time he looked much happier.

When everyone finally had their brooms, Madam Hooch instructed them on how to fly and what to do. It was like Henry remembered, and she mimicked the other students. She was the only one not surprised when Neville's possessed broom went off.

Her Potter instincts tingled. It was the same instinct, she was sure, that book!Harry and movie!Harry had suffered from, that had them make all those reckless decisions. Without consideration for her acrophobia and the trouble this would undoubtedly land her in, she set off after Neville mere moments after he'd left the ground.

People called her name, most notably Madam Hooch and Draco. Of course, she disregarded them, the idiot that she was, and took a hold of Neville's broom. "Fancy seeing you here," she joked. "Come here often?"

He stared at her, and she coughed, ignoring her flaming ears. "W-what?"

"Forget it." She concentrated on her magic as it coated his broom and commanded it to stop behaving like a madman. The effect was instantaneous. "That's better, isn't it?"

Neville, paler than the ghosts, nodded. "Th-thank you. Thank you. I… I thought I was… I was going to… to die."

Falling from this height _could_ kill you, but Henry knew he'd get away with a broken arm.

She froze. _He_ might get away lightly, but what if _she_ fell?

 _Oh my sweet Jesus,_ went through her when she looked down. Big mistake. Her vision blurred and her heart began to race. She felt the hand on her broom sweat, and gulped. If she wasn't careful, she might actually die.

"Um. Potter? Henrietta Potter?" Neville carefully poked her shoulder, and she yanked so hard it hurt. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yes. Yes. Fine. I'm fine. Very fine. Fabulous. Jesus, we're really high up, huh? Maybe… maybe don't look down. Just a hint. Should we…" She gulped. "Should we fly down now?"

Neville nodded, and let her hold his sleeve until they were safely on the ground. Henry collapsed and crawled into a fetal position, closing her eyes and counting down from one hundred.

Draco was immediately by her side, speaking calmly about how good she was for never having flown before, and asked if she wanted to hold his hand. She did, and nearly broke it.

"Of all the _reckless_ things—" Madam Hooch began, but Blaise silenced her with a death glare. She coughed. "Are you alright, Miss Potter?"

Henry nodded weakly. "Just a bit… you know… scared. Heights are wow. They're wow. Really high."

Madam Hooch connected the dots and had Draco help Henry to the Hospital Wing. He carefully helped her stand, which was a feat, considering her legs were the consistency of jelly.

They walked off the grass in silence, feeling the heavy stares from their classmates. It wasn't until a few minutes after they entered the castle that Draco asked what happened.

"Acrophobia," she whispered.

"What's that?"

"Fear of heights."

"Oh." Of course she'd reacted so strongly, then. He had to ask Harry if there were more things she didn't like. He doubted Henry herself would tell him, and he didn't really want to find it out like this again.

They entered the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomfrey was scolding Fred and George. The twins looked at the new arrivals and raised their eyebrows in sync at the sight. Henry was afraid to look in the mirror. She could already see her hair turning white.

"And what can I help you with, dears?" Madam Pomfrey asked gently and directed them to an empty bed. Draco quickly explained everything to her, and she left to find a Calming Draught. "And you two," she told the twins, "are leaving without disturbing my patient, got it?"

"Yes Madam," they replied, looking like they were going to do the opposite. Both Henry and Draco hoped not.

"I know a few hexes," he whispered to her. "Give me a signal and I'll use them."

Fred winked at her before leaving the room. George gave her one too, but his eyes lingered a second longer, filled with worry.

"What… what did you do to your hair?" Draco asked in an odd voice, and Henry took a few strands to look at. They were the same colour as Fred and George's.

"Uh. It does that." Her hair immediately turned back to auburn.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Really? I didn't know."

She snorted. "Haha. Funny."

"Whatever, I wasn't asking about your Metamorphmagus abilities, I was asking why your hair turned into theirs."

"They're my friends, I guess that's why." She had little to no control over her abilities. They lived their own life. She had to read up on that too. Her to-do-list was becoming too long.

Madam Pomfrey returned with the potion. Calm and collected, Henry thanked her before following Draco out the door.

"Are you doing anything special today?"

Henry nodded. She was still going to see Hagrid. Not that she remembered if he was a critical character, but she had a soft spot for him, and knew for a fact he was emotionally attached to at least Harry. It was actually a surprise he hadn't sent a tea invitation yet.

Draco wrinkled his nose. Delicately, he asked, "Why are you visiting that oaf— I mean the groundskeeper?"

Since he tried to be civil, she looked past his blunder. "I remember him," was her cryptical answer. "And he seems to know us. He might have known our parents."

Draco accepted the explanation. "Then I'll see you at dinner."

"Of course. And Draco? Thanks for being my friend."

He blushed. "You too. Thank you for not giving up on me."

* * *

To say Hagrid was surprised was an understatement. He nearly fell flat on his back when he opened the door and saw the twins standing outside. The hut was small and the furniture big. Henry almost drowned in the armchair she sat in.

It wasn't a visit to Hagrid without his famous rock cakes. Henry whispered a quick Reducio and hid it in her pocket. If she ever figured out Hagrid's birthday, she was giving him a proper cookbook.

He was ecstatic at their visit, said he had thought of inviting them but was afraid they'd reject it, since they didn't know who he was. To ease his worries, Henry confessed she remembered him taking them to Privet Drive. He got so emotional he shed a few tears.

"Yeh have to tell me," he said, "How's school been?"

Harry's life at Hogwarts was all he could ask for. He had friends, everyone was nice (though he knew it was mostly because of his fame) and classes were fun. Except Potions and Defence. Snape was out to get him and Quirrell a stammering idiot. And he smelled so strongly of garlic one of his classmates fainted.

"Bah, Snape's a good teacher," said Hagrid.

Realising Hagrid would never see the Professors' flaws, Harry quickly changed topics to his friends. He hung out mostly with Terry Boot, Michael Corner and Anthony Goldstein. Sometimes Padma Patil and Su Li joined them. Fred and George caught him a few times after class. They usually spoke about pranks. Hagrid warned Harry they were troublemakers, but the boy was already fascinated with their work and ready to become their apprentice.

"Wha' abou' yeh, Henrietta?"

"Please call me Henry." She gave him a sheepish smile. "It's alright, I guess. School's fun. Potions could be better, but at least Snape doesn't take too many points from me. I have a few friends, too. Like Harry, I hang out with Fred and George."

"No one in yer own House?"

"Oh, sure I do. Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott are my friends. We met Draco in Diagon Alley, actually."

She wasn't surprised when Hagrid warned her about their parents and ideologies. "Be careful, yeh hear me?"

"Yes Hagrid."

Before letting them go, he promised to invite them to tea next week as well. They walked back to the castle in silence, their fingers intertwined. She had already told Harry about Norbert and her plan to befriend Hagrid so he wouldn't end up eaten by the creature. He agreed it was a good plan, but hadn't expected to actually like the half giant. He was looking forward to the next meeting already.

* * *

They decided to split the work. Harry was researching useful potions, both offensive and defensive ones. Henry was looking up the spells. She promised to teach him, Draco, Blaise and Theo the ones she already knew that Saturday after her detention.

Draco noticed, of course, that the twins were studying extra curricular subjects and Harry happily told him that you could never be too careful. So Draco volunteered to look up more information about Metamorphmagi, since Henry hadn't done that yet.

Blaise looked up from his advanced book on magical creatures. "I suggest learning Occlumency as well." He explained the basics to Harry. It was a protection of the mind, from Legilimens users with the ability to read minds. It could be both taught and hereditary.

"Something tells me half the teachers know Legilimens," said Harry. "We might need to learn it too."

"Most Purebloods learn it at an early age," explained Draco, "but only the basics. For example, I can't protect myself against Uncle Severus, because he's a Master Legilimens."

The twins stared at him. Snape could read thoughts? They cringed. He must have done that to them in Potions. Henry had double Potions the next day (Friday), and was looking even less forward to it now.

"We definitely have to learn it," she said.

Blaise nodded. "I know someone that might help us." And with that, he left.

"We should ask Fred and George too," Harry mumbled to himself. "They might know it."

"Why not invite that Mu—uuuggleborn as well?" Draco cursed under his breath. "Since you're inviting all and everything, I mean."

"Don't be snide." Henry patted his shoulder. "But that's a good idea. I'll ask her to join us on Saturday. She's my friend too, you know."

He sighed. "I know." He went deeper into the library to find more about her ability, leaving Harry and Henry alone.

"You should make a list of spells to teach us," Harry suggested. "On Saturday, I mean."

"Yeah, you're right. Otherwise I'll probably forget."

She wrote down all the Charms spells and sighed. She only knew a bit more than half. She had to take this afternoon to learn as many of the others as possible.

"See you tonight," Harry called as she left. They were basically living in the Room of Requirements. Henry had moved all her things to it, but since Harry didn't have the same problem as her, he decided he'd sleep there once every second day.

The Room of Requirement was quiet. Henry liked the silence; it was easier to concentrate when she didn't have to filter out the background noise. She asked the room for another dummy and looked up Diffindo in her book. It was used to cut or tear objects, with the wand motion being similar to Flipendo.

"Alright," she said to herself. "You can do this. Spells come easy for you." She stood in front of the dummy. Her magic vibrated in her wand, ready to obey her command. She imagined the dummy being torn in half. "Diffindo!" A light pink spark exited her wand. She shrugged it off, used to nothing working out on her first try. "Diffindo!" The force from the spell repelled her backwards. She landed hard on her back and hit her head on the floor.

Cursing herself and the spell, she sat up. And dropped her jaw. The dummy was cleanly cut in half.

 _Is it supposed to actually_ be _that powerful?_ she wondered, standing up and looking through her book again.

'If used inappropriately, can cause death or injury,' it said. Well, there she had her answer. The spell was deadly. Good to know she could use it, though she didn't want to. She had long ago come to terms with the fact she might have to kill people (Death Eaters), but that didn't mean she was okay with giving them the goriest, most painful ends she could.

 _Only for emergencies, then,_ she decided.

The next spell she looked up was Colloportus, Alohomora's opposite. The room conjured a detached door for her and she sat down to memorise the wand movement, an unfinished rectangle with a straight line down. She practiced until she thought she had it down. Then she stood.

"Colloportus!" The door locked itself immediately. Surprised, she tried opening it. "It _worked_! Yes!" she cheered. "Haha! Suck on that. Alohomora." A gentle _click_ later and the door was open.

Finally there was a spell she got the hang off immediately. Wait until she told Harry. Proud of her achievements, she quickly moved on to Reparo. That one they would definitely need. Sad how they weren't allowed to use magic outside school. Reparo was one of the most useful everyday spells Henry remembered. She hoped Dudley and Vernon wouldn't break too many of their things during summer.

When she was done with Reparo, she moved on to the Ice Jinx, Glacies. From her limited knowledge of Latin, it translated to "ice". What a surprise.

Her magic didn't get the hang of the spell until much later. She wrote in her notes that apparently her magic wasn't as apt at spells that controlled nature as other spells. She also stopped training. Her magical reserve was low and she was tired. It was also time for dinner, which her stomach was happy to remind her of.

"How'd it go?" asked Draco. Harry had told him what she was doing.

"I exhausted my magic before I learned the last spell."

"Can I pat your shoulder?" She nodded and he did. "You did good, Henry. I'm proud."

She was too. "Thank you! Look forward to Saturday."

Afterwards, Henry quickly found Hermione before she could disappear to her common room. The girl was delighted to be invited to their gathering and promised to come.

Before going to sleep that night, Henry took a gulp of both the Calming Draught and the Sleeping Draught. It was the best sleep she had had so far.

* * *

Double Potions was horrible. It was the first lesson of the day, a Friday, and Snape wasted no time in making their lives miserable. To no one's surprise, he began the lesson by throwing out questions to the class.

"Parkinson!" he barked. "How many sprigs of lavender does the Sleeping Draught require?" When Pansy failed to answer, he allowed Daphne to reply.

"Four, Professor."

"Correct. Beakley, what is the effect of the Pompion Potion?"

The boy blanched. "It… it turns the drinker's head into a pumpkin? Sir?"

"Excellent. One point to Slytherin. Mr Zabini, do tell me what I get if I mix salamander blood and crushed Wartcap powder to a cauldron with bursting mushrooms."

"The Fire Protection Potion, sir."

"Excellent. It seems most of you have done your homework." But he wasn't finished. "Miss Potter, what are the instructions for the Calming Draught?"

What were the odds he asked _her_ that? "I don't know, sir. It's a fourth-year potion."

"One point from Slytherin for your unwanted sass, Miss Potter. Everyone, turn to page ten. Today we're brewing the Forgetfulness Potion. Pair up."

Draco went to get the ingredients while Henry prepped the cauldron. Now that she was here, she had to be careful with her thoughts. Who knew when Snape was listening in on them?

"I thought he liked Slytherin," whispered a boy whose name she didn't remember. "Why's he being so hard on us?"

"Mr Beakley, I suggest you take a look at your surroundings before speaking." The boys jumped at the sound of Snape's voice. He was right behind them. "I warn you once. Next time I'm taking points."

Henry looked at the dejected students and leaned closer. "He's strict because he cares. Can't have the other Houses be better at Potions than his own, right?" She winked for good measure. The boys gaped at her. The one Snape had snapped at, Beakley, nodded.

"You're right. I wouldn't be able to look my parents in the eye if Gryffindor bested me at _this_. Thank you, Miss Potter."

"Call me Henry. Nice to meet you, by the way."

The boy shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too. I'm Adam Beakley. This is Finlei Choi." The Asian boy nodded in greeting.

"Hello."

They returned to their own stations. Draco and Henry were two of the first to finish their potion. Snape begrudgingly admitted it was "passable". "Now, turn to page thirteen, you have another potion to brew."

"He doesn't like you," whispered Draco. "Otherwise he wouldn't be so strict. Passable, really? It was darn near perfect."

"Miss Potter!"

"Yes, Professor?"

"What happens if you add too much of the ingredients to the Draught of Peace?"

Her mind came to an abrupt stop. What was _wrong_ with him? Singling her out like this—what good did it do except feeding into his disgusting self-satisfaction?

"You risk being put into a deep, irreversible sleep," whispered Draco, who stood with his back to Snape.

"If you do that, Professor, you get a similar effect to the Draught of Living Death. In other words, the one that drinks it might not wake up. Satisfied?"

"And how did you know that?"

"I read it in passing in a book at the library, sir."

He dismissed them and Henry sank into her chair. Honestly, Snape shouldn't be a teacher. They were supposed to be objective—he didn't even try. Should she give up on the class? No way he'd give her a fair grade.

She ignored Snape's angry gaze on her. "Page thirteen, what potion is that?"

"Herbicide Potion," replied Draco. "I'll go get the ingredients."

One eternity later, the four of them (Henry, Draco, Blaise and Theo) left the Potions lab with their peers, sure Snape had taken at least a year of their lives.

They ate a quick lunch, with Harry joining them this time, before leaving for Defence. It was as mind-numbing as yesterday. Henry spent the lesson enchanting origami cranes to peck on Theo's head every time he fell asleep. She'd found the spell in a book at the library.

Herbology was fun. They were learning about the Devil's Snare (why on Earth would they divulge that information when they used it to protect the Stone?). It's natural environment was dark and damp, which matched perfectly with the third floor. Henry was aghast to learn it was classified as semi-sentient, however. When she and Harry braved the trials, she had to make sure not to hurt it.

Finally school ended. The children felt they had aged significantly, but at least it was Friday. They only had a bit of homework, which Henry's group and Harry's friends finished within the hour. Henry and Draco excused themselves from the others and returned to the common room. Draco showed her a deck of Exploding Snap cards.

Henry had never learned how to play in her past life. Draco was more than willing to teach her.

The rules were simple. When you saw two identical pictures, you hit the card with the top of your wand—and you got one point. The player with the most points at the end won the game. The hard part was that the cards shuffled faster and faster.

"There are three versions," Draco explained, "but we're playing the classic for your first try."

It was hard. Fun, but hard. In the end, Draco won most games, because he was much more used to the pace.

"You have surprisingly good reflexes," he noted as he packed up the game. "Have you played something similar before?"

She couldn't tell him she developed them so Dudley wouldn't steal her stuff. "Similar, yeah. So, what's this?"

Draco held up his Wizard Skittles. "The goal of the game is to knock down as many pins as possible with your skittles," he explained and showed her.

After a few rounds, he asked, "Do you like Hogwarts?"

"Well, yes."

"You don't look like it."

She glanced at him. He was frowning. "I'm not used to all of this. I thought that once I came here, everything would sort itself out, kind off. But I realise that's wrong. Magic doesn't unite people the way I thought it would. Maybe it unites Muggleborns and Halfbloods, but not Purebloods. At least not your kind."

He snorted. "And what exactly is my kind?"

"The Dark ones, I guess." She wasn't about to call them for what they were, Pureblood traditionalists and conservationists. That would undoubtedly rub him the wrong way.

"Can't fault you there," he sighed. "Thanks for being my friend despite that."

"I saw the effort you put in, so I wanted to give you a chance. Why did you approach us that day?"

His father had been cross with him for offending her. Draco had essentially wasted a prime opportunity to get to know the famous Twins-Who-Lived, and the blunder set him back in his father's eyes. The only thing he proved that day was that he was indeed just a child, too immature for Lucius to take to social gatherings.

"What about now?"

He smiled. "Now I know you're not some fame-seeking moron, but someone that loves magic. Do you like to read generally, or just school-related stuff?"

"Generally, though I haven't gotten much of a chance." Petunia and Vernon didn't allow them to touch their bookshelf and if they borrowed books from the school library, Dudley ruined them. They had actually been banned from taking books with them when they were nine. "What about you?"

"I enjoy a book or two, mostly adventures of Merlin."

"I like fantasy."

"What're those about?" He laughed when she told him they were mostly about magic and magical worlds. It was impressive how many different systems the Muggles came up with though.

Since Draco likely wouldn't step foot in a Muggle bookstore, she told him about her favourite series, books and authors whose names she had forgotten but now resurfaced.

Right before she found herself here, she had finished reading Elizabeth Lim's _The Blood of Stars_ duology, about Maia Tamarin, a seamstress dreaming of becoming the imperial tailor.

"Madam Malkin has scissors like that."

"I don't think they're exactly the same," laughed Henry.

"Tell me more about that angel series."

He was talking about Susan Ee's _Penryn and the End of Days_ trilogy. Henry remembered being obsessed with it when it first came out. Afterwards, she wrote her own short stories centering around angels and the perception of religion. How she wished she could read them.

"Do you have a book series you detest?" she asked Draco. "It doesn't have to have bad writing, but maybe a bad story, execution or characters."

"Good questions…" He furrowed his brows in concentration. "I think that would be _Damien's Ballad_. The characters were rather thin, especially the protagonist. He was a blank slate, with no personality whatsoever. The story was something a three-year-old could write as well, very generic and cliché."

Henry whistled in surprise.

"What about you?"

"That would be… Either the _Everlife_ books or _House of Night_. I never finished _Everlife_ though. I forced myself through the first book, but the world didn't make much sense and the main character devolved into a boring empty sheet and lost all her interesting quirks. And I hated the love interest. Honestly, it would have been better if she ended up with her new best friend or no one at all."

Draco laughed. "That one sounds _awful_. Do you enjoy romance stories, then?"

"Yeah, most books I read focus a lot on them. Do you?"

"Not particularly. Again, I enjoy adventure stories the most. They usually don't have any serious romantic relationships. What's wrong with _House of Night_ , then?"

Oh boy, he should be happy he hadn't read it. It started off well, with a likeable heroine and side characters, but already in the second book it went bonkers and lost all its charm. The characters died and came back to life, the heroine had a harem—and cheated on her boyfriend with a _teacher_. The villainess became good, then appeared a new villain, some random angel whose name Henry never learned to pronounce correctly, then came a new villainess, the gays could never be happy and honestly in the last book Henry detested Zoey Redbird so much she was angry she won the last battle.

Draco promised himself to never read _House of Night_. If just talking about it riled Henry up so much her hair turned blood red, he didn't want to know more.

"I'll give you a list of my favourite series instead," he said. "At least they're not _that_ bad."

"Thanks!"

"Of course. Is there anything else you enjoy?"

"Taking walks. I haven't done much of that since we came here though."

"How about we take one now?"

They finished their match of Wizard Skittles and left the castle to walk around the Black Lake. Draco wondered if she used to take walks at home. She did, mostly with Harry. There was a field not too far away from the house where they spent most of their childhood running around or climbing trees.

Draco in turn told her about the magical creature reserve a few minutes from his own home and promised to show it to both her and Harry. Hopefully they could persuade Vernon and Petunia to let them visit over the summer.

He pointed out a black dog watching them from the treeline. Sirius moved farther into the forest when he did. Instead of calling more attention to him, Henry nodded subtly and pointed at the mers sticking their heads out of the water.

That night, as Henry waited for Harry in the Room of Requirements, she couldn't stop grinning. Though some things were tough, she wouldn't trade this life for anything. She could live with Pansy's mean antics and Ron's sour glares if it meant she could stay with Draco and Harry and the others.

"Someone's in a good mood."

"Harry!" She rushed into his arms. "How have you been?"

"Fine. Michael and the others taught me Wizarding Chess. It's fascinating, but they didn't know the spell."

She kissed his cheek before cuddling up in the bed. Harry joined her.

"Did something good happen?" he asked with a smile.

"Uh-huh. Draco loves to read! And we played games and took a walk, we saw Sirius and we talked so much!"

Harry laughed. Finally she was smiling again. He worried he wouldn't see her happy until Christmas. Thanks to Fred and George, he had gotten her present early.

Henry took her dose of the two Draughts and snuggled up against him. If things kept going this way, Harry hoped she wouldn't need them by the end of December.

* * *

At 10AM the following day, a Saturday, Henry stood outside the Potions lab. Snape unlocked the door and ordered her inside. Immediately he put her to work: she was to clean the cauldrons and do inventory. Her detention lasted until she was done, he said.

Careful in keeping her thoughts in check, she set off to clean the overgrown kettles until they sparkled. She was forbidden from using magic, but that wasn't really a problem. She had been in charge of washing the dishes at the Dursleys for as long as she could remember.

While she worked, Snape sat behind his desk, looking through homework. They didn't say a word for two hours before Snape offered her a sandwich for missing lunch. She accepted it, secretly wondering if he put something in it.

"Don't be alarmed," said Snape after sitting down again, "I am merely precautious. I don't want you to faint from hunger."

"I see. Then, thank you Professor." She finished it and decided to be brave. "How old are you, sir?"

"And why is that of any relevance?"

"Because I wonder if you knew my parents."

The shrill sound of something tearing made her look up. Snape had accidentally ripped someone's homework in two.

He leveled her with a murderous glare. "And why do you ask?"

She shrugged. "I have no memory of my father, and only one of my mother. My aunt and uncle refused to speak of them, but Harry and I have always been curious. I figured that if my Head of House doesn't know them, then he knows someone who does."

It took a long time before he answered. She gave up after a while, figuring he still wasn't over the ordeal, and went back to cleaning the last cauldron.

When Snape spoke next, he was quiet. "I knew them."

She looked at him. "Really? What did they look like?"

"Like _you_ ," he spat. "You're practically her twin."

Henry absentmindedly touched her hair. She figured she resembled at least one of them a little, but to know she was a miniature version of Lily was unexpected. It didn't make her happy. It was a hassle, because of course Snape didn't like her if she looked like Lily's ghost.

"I see. And dad?"

"Your brother resembles him so much it's scary."

"Did he also have green eyes?"

"Blue," spat Snape.

Henry took a deep breath. "You didn't like them, did you?"

"Enough, Miss Potter. I suggest you finish your task if you don't want to be stuck here all day."

"Yes, Professor." She finished the cauldron. Before she disappeared into the storage, she gave him another look. "Thank you for telling me about them." She didn't stay to see his reaction.

* * *

After finishing her detention (an hour later), Henry went to find Hermione. She stumbled upon Fred and George, who whipped out their trusty map and pointed her to the direction of the abandoned classroom they would use. So Hermione had been brave and went there without her? Henry admitted she was proud.

Outside the room stood a lot more people than she initially anticipated. There was Draco, Blaise, Theo and Hermione, as well as Harry, who were all supposed to be there. Then there was Anthony Goldstein, Padma Patil, Michael Corner and Terry Boot, who were _not_ invited.

Henry arched a brow at Harry and he scratched his neck nervously.

"They followed me here," he admitted sheepishly. "I'm sorry."

"Harry's been acting odd since yesterday," explained Padma, "so we wanted to make sure he wasn't getting into trouble, being bullied or something."

Henry gave a smile of appreciation. "Then are you joining us?"

"Why not?" Anthony Goldstein followed her and the others inside. The other Ravenclaws followed his lead.

"So, what are we doing?" asked Terry Boot.

"Henry's going to teach us the spells for Charms," replied Harry. "Go on, Henry."

And thus began her first day as teacher. She had them all line up so she could see them all, then she performed Flipendo, told them its effect even though they just saw it, showed them the movement and had them repeat it until she was satisfied. The problem was, except for Harry and Hermione, the others had varying degrees of difficulty performing it. She didn't understand, until Draco said not everyone were born with perfect control of their magic.

 _Oh. So they have trouble making it obey them?_ That was a problem she hadn't expected. She'd forgotten how it was in the books and movies, and kind of assumed most children learned control from dealing with their accidental magic.

"Alright then…" she mumbled. "Harry, I need to talk to you. The rest of you, free play until we get back." Some of them giggled.

Harry let her drag him out of the classroom. She asked what she was supposed to do now, and he suggested teaching them control. The thing was, she didn't know how. Their control came from years of suppressing their magic whenever it tried going out of control. Henry especially had had a need for it, since her magic was so violent.

"We usually searched for our magic," Harry said helpfully. "Might do them some good to do the same."

"You should take over."

"This was your idea, so you should take charge." He opened the door and pushed her inside. Henry immediately had everyone sit down, and explained to them they had to manually find their magic. If casting a spell made it easier to reach it, then they were free to do so.

Hermione was the only one that, after an hour, managed to grasp her magic. Henry had her consciously move it around her body, like she herself used to do, before ordering her to cast Wingardium Leviosa on a pebble. The girl could already use the spell flawlessly, but this time her magic was more cooperative.

Spurred by the Muggleborn's results, the others kept up their work, some casting Wingardium Leviosa on repeat to make it easier.

"I played with my magic when I was younger," she explained when Hermione asked about her own control. "I could make it do stuff, but at the same time it randomly exploded without my consent." She also reminded them of Professor Flitwick's words about focus and intent. She explained what she did when she tried new spells. They had to envision something concrete, in this case how they literally grabbed their magic. The magic could be represented by a string of some sorts.

Blaise immediately got a hang of it. Draco and Michael Corner followed suit after a while. Harry went to coach Theo, Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot, while Henry oversaw the others casting Wingardium Leviosa. When she was sure they got a hang of consciously moving their magic, she showed them Flipendo. Again, Hermione cast it without difficulty, while the others struggled in varying degrees. Most of them managed to cast the spell after a handful of tries, only to then struggle again. Henry figured they might have trouble concentrating. At the top of her head, she didn't know any good exercises for concentration, so she decided to look it up later.

Harry's group joined them some time later, and she taught them Flipendo as well. They had similar problems, but Harry didn't know any good solutions either. At the end of the day, her students (she giggled at the thought) only learned three spells, Flipendo, Alohomora and Colloportus.

She was about to wrap up the session, but Terry Boot wanted a go at another spell. Apparently it didn't matter they had been doing this for five hours.

"Fred and George taught me Engorgio, does that sound good?"

"What's that?" the boy asked.

Henry nodded at Blaise, who replied. "It enlarges the target. Right, Professor Potter?" Everyone laughed.

"Really?" Henry asked, exasperated. "I'm nowhere near good enough to be a teacher."

"You're leagues better than some of them," Draco insisted, thinking of Quirrell.

Harry nodded in agreement. "If it wasn't so hard to get a hold of potion ingredients, I'm sure you could tutor us in that too."

This time she laughed. She might know how to read a recipe, but she was no Mistress, and she certainly didn't know enough recipes to teach them anything.

"If you say so. Now, about Engorgio…"

As they wrapped up the session, Padma asked when they would meet up next. Surprisingly enough, everyone was eager for another lesson. They set up a date (Saturday next week around the same time and place) and were on their way.

"What should I teach next time?" Henry asked Harry.

"More Charms, and exercises for concentration."

"Except that."

He grinned. "No, trust me, we won't have time for much else." They laughed, and Henry took his hand.

"You're right. And we didn't finish with the spells I planned for today either."

"I'm such a genius."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I love this version of Harry. He's just so Done with everything. Writing him is a blast.


	9. The Darkest Hour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Strap yourselves in, because as the title suggests, shit is about to hit the fan.
> 
> Also, kudos to Ciel_of_the_Night for helping me with scenes and scenarios, and for letting me ramble about all my ideas for future books in the series.

_** Warning: ** _ **Bullying, excessive violence towards the end of the chapter, severe mental breakdown (b/c why not) and lots of cursing.**

Sunday breakfast began with Neville nervously thanking her again for saving him during Flying. He hastily retreated before any of her Slytherin brethren could eat him alive—and before she could reply.

"Nervous, that one," said Draco. "Wonder how he got sorted into Gryffindor."

Because he valued bravery above all else, was Henry's guess. That's usually how the Sorting went.

Parvati also sought her out, discreetly asking if she could join their afternoon class next Saturday. Henry wasn't about to reject her. Anyone could come as long as they had something to contribute. If more people joined, she was thinking of assigning people different roles, for example Harry on Transfiguration (since he was a genius at it), Hermione on Herbology, herself for Charms and Draco for Potions.

While they ate, Blaise quietly told them the person he contacted regarding Occlumency lessons had replied. They were willing to help and would be waiting for them in the library after breakfast.

Henry couldn't wait and wolfed down her food. She rushed over to Harry's table to get him, too. Fred and George noticed and waved. The twins returned it with bright smiles. Henry hadn't talked to them for what felt like years, so she decided to visit them soon. If she caught Hermione before the end of the day, she would have her deliver the message.

Their little core group (Harry, Henry, Blaise and Draco) walked into the library not too long after, nodding politely at Madam Pince.

"I don't think she likes me," whispered Harry.

"Maybe because you charmed her hair blue," giggled Henry. She hadn't personally seen it, but Theo couldn't stop laughing about it two days ago.

"Fred and George dared me."

"They're corrupting you after less than a week?" She shook her head, smiling. "What am I to do with you?"

"That's mean." His gentle smile said otherwise. "How are you feeling?"

They rounded a bookshelf and went deeper into the library.

"Good. I slept well yesterday." And she'd taken another dose of Calming Draught. That potion was a godsend. If _it_ made her this calm, then how would it feel drinking the Draught of Peace? Didn't Madam Pomfrey hand it out to the fifth-years sometime in the books? She couldn't remember if it was Harry's peers or not.

"Fabulous. It's great to see you smile again."

"We're here," said Blaise.

A black girl with sand coloured hair and radiating green eyes greeted them with a polite smile. She was wearing Slytherin robes, but Henry didn't remember her from the Sorting, so she had to be a second or third-year. She looked too young to be a fourth-year.

"Luciana of the Raging Roses," breathed Draco before he caught himself. "Uh, I mean… Ignore me."

Luciana giggled. Henry wondered how anyone could have such a cute laugh. "I had no idea my reputation would reach the Malfoy scion. I'm honoured."

Draco blushed. "I apologise, Miss Roserage."

Henry frowned.

Luciana's green (moss green, Henry realised) eyes landed on her. "And you must be Henrietta Potter, the Princess."

"The what?"

Harry snorted. "Henry's not a princess. She has no elegance."

" _Rude_." He wasn't wrong though, she begrudgingly admitted. "Are you our teacher, Miss Roserage?"

"For the time being, yes."

"Miss Roserage is a born Legilimens," Blaise explained. "She was taught Occlumency at an early age and is considered a Mistress at both."

Harry whistled, impressed. "What year are you?"

"Second."

"Twelve and already a Mistress? Wow."

She bowed politely. "Then, shall we start?" She showed them to a hidden nook with two couches and armchairs. Books about Occlumency and Legilimency lay on top of a wooden table.

Before they delved into the practical aspects, Luciana was adamant in explaining the differences between Occlumency and Legilimency.

The mind was a complicated thing, with many layers of mental barriers. Legilimency was the art of penetrating the mind and navigating it. No one's mind landscapes looked the same, since no one was the same, so one part of Legilimency was also to interpret what you saw.

To explain it simply, Muggles called it "mind-reading". As a Legilimens, she assured them they weren't reading thoughts, because Legilimency wasn't about that at all. The term was incorrectly coined centuries ago by a Muggle that misunderstood the art. Of course, they could see thoughts, emotions and memories, but it wasn't as Muggles made it out to be.

"It's important to know you should never have direct eye-contact with a known Legilimens," Luciana said gravely, pointing at a paragraph in her book. "It's much easier to invade the mind if they do."

There was also a spell accompanied with the ability. The incantation was "Legilimens", and only less experienced Legilimens needed it. More advanced Legilimens could throw the spell wandlessly and nonverbally.

"Which can you do?" Henry asked.

"Both," she grinned in reply. "I'm a Mistress, after all."

Occlumency was Legilimency's opposite. It protected the mind against it. The most important aspect of Occlumency was its ability to stop Legilimens from influencing people. Those practicing the art were known as Occlumens, Luciana told them.

"The easiest way to learn it, according to some, is to use Legilimency," she said, a fierce scowl deforming her face. "Which is utter bollocks, of course." According to Luciana, meditating deeply got you where you needed to be. She herself had constructed a mental landscape where she stored her memories and could lock up her emotions.

When Henry asked why that was necessary, Luciana gladly explained children of powerful families were often targeted for assassinations and kidnappings. Politics was a ruthless practice, especially since He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named appeared. Exploiting the children wasn't uncommon, not at all, so it was for the best that they knew how to protect at least their minds.

Harry and Henry were glad they weren't in Luciana's shoes.

Luciana, in an attempt to steer away from the topic, mentioned that creating layer upon layer of one's mind required much more willpower than simply forcing them to do it (i.e. using Legilimency). It was the same for resisting the Imperius Curse and Veritaserum.

"What's that?" asked Harry.

"Which of them?"

"Both."

Luciana smiled. "The Imperius Curse is one of the Unforgivables, it's a mind-controlling cure of sorts, and is hard to detect. The one it's cast upon mostly doesn't even know."

"Many Death Eaters blamed the curse when Voldemort disappeared," Henry supplied, completely forgetting Lucius Malfoy was one of them.

Draco froze. "Yeah…" he said awkwardly.

Henry didn't hear. "I read somewhere that the Dark Mark cannot be given under false pretenses. It makes sense though; why would Voldemort create such a faulty loyalty test? Of course it has to be willingly given."

Blaise coughed loudly. "How about Luciana explains what Veritaserum is?" he said a bit too pointedly, nodding in Draco's direction.

 _Oh shit._ "Draco… I'm sorry. I didn't… I wasn't thinking."

"Sure."

Luciana looked between them and sighed. "The fact is that we don't know how the Mark works. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. About Veritaserum though, it's a truth serum, a potion, and a strong one at that. It's said it's impossible to withstand, but if you're a good enough Occlumens, you have the willpower and ability to withstand it."

The second-year Slytherin had them all sit comfortably before she instructed how to create a mental landscape.

Henry took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her magic pulsated through her body in time with her heartbeat. Curious, she followed the stream until an icy feeling grabbed her. It pulled her down down down deep into the darkness, and she could no longer feel her body.

Was the dark void her landscape?

 _Light._ She needed to see.

"Lumos." The world came into view. A giant ball of white light hung above her head. "Note to self, don't imagine suns while casting spells," she muttered, impressed with the result.

Her landscape was mesmerising but empty. The ground, or rather floor, was milky white and rock solid. It shone like glass in a mirror against the sunlight. She could barely see her distorted reflection.

The sky above was a mix of blues and whites, it looked like someone dumped a whole lot of paint and randomly stirred it.

She was in the middle of wondering how to create different layers when a tug at her centre forced her up into the air, _through_ the sky and back into her body. She reeled backwards and into the couch.

"Seems like you found your way in," mused Luciana. "How was it?"

"Odd." And wonderful. Her landscape was beautiful. She wanted to protect it.

"That's the general consensus. Please tell the others what you did."

She tried, to the best of her ability, to retell how she ended up inside her own mind. Harry was the most sceptical one. He didn't think it logical that magic allowed her to find her way, but then again, it was _magic_ , and there was no logic to it.

"Of course it's logical," said Luciana with that polite smile of hers. "Magic is a part of you and branches out to all parts of your body, even your mind. You said you made a sun with Lumos—doesn't spells require magic? Guys, let's try it again. Not you Miss Potter, you need to rest."

Henry leaned back against the couch and watched her friends close their eyes and meditate. She mimed _thank you_ to Luciana. She couldn't fathom why the girl even considered helping them. She was the first upperclassman to willingly speak to her, let alone teach her something.

In the end, only Henry experienced the landscape phenomenon. Before leaving, Luciana gave strict orders not to try this alone. The first few times had to be overseen, because people rarely knew how they got to their landscapes, let alone how to get out of them.

"Thank you for getting me back," Henry said. "And for helping us."

"Of course," replied Luciana. "It's an honour to be of help to the famous Potter twins. I'll see you all next Sunday."

* * *

That night, Henry was surprised to see Fred and George outside the Room of Requirement. They were pacing not too far away from where the door usually appeared, but stopped at the sight of her.

"Finally!" Fred exclaimed. "We've been waiting for hours."

"Thirty minutes," corrected George sheepishly. "But it felt like hours."

Henry rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "What are you doing here, guys?"

All the humour evaporated from them.

"We're worried about you," Fred confessed.

"Yeah," said George. "What have you been doing out here?"

Ah. They had seen her on the map, hadn't they? Her name must have been stuck between walls or something, and they had worried.

Warmed by their compassion, she smiled. "It's a secret, sorry."

"Henry, you'll get in massive trouble if you're caught," warned George.

"Take it from someone that knows their stuff," Fred said with a nod. "You might be expelled, you know. Is it really worth the trouble?"

She bit her lip. Would it hurt to tell them the truth?

 _You haven't even told Harry,_ she reminded herself. True, but he was _Harry_ , he didn't need to know. She wanted him to have a carefree life, and he had enough to deal with without knowing about Pansy. Except when Boot put a hand on him, Harry hadn't had a single panic attack. She suspected he held everything in because she was acting out. So no, she wasn't telling him. He already knew the girl kicked her out of the room; he didn't need to know more.

Which made it more important that someone outside of Slytherin knew of Pansy's behaviour.

"Pansy doesn't let me inside the room," she whispered. "And… she does other things too." She still wasn't over what the girl had done to her things. It was a miracle the house-elves found her uniform.

Fred and George inhaled sharply. Their eyes flashed dangerously.

"She's bullying you?"

When Henry didn't even look at them, George snapped. "Henry!"

"Yes… I guess she is." Because she was worried Henry was going to steal Draco. Merlin's beard, they were _eleven_. Pansy had to calm down.

"So where exactly are you sleeping?" asked Fred. "In a random classroom?"

"Kind of…" She didn't want to reveal the Room of Requirement yet. It was thus far her only true safe haven.

"Oh Henry. You can't keep living like this," said George. "Let's go talk to… Snape won't work, how about Professor McGonagall?"

"You really think that will solve anything? There's no proof Pansy has done anything." And most likely, she had people ready to back her up should Henry try to blame her. "Draco is going to talk to her. She's crushing on him, so she'll listen." _I hope._

"In that case, we'll prepare them a surprise." The grin on Fred's face was going to haunt her dreams.

"Until then, you can sleep in Gryffindor Tower."

"I— Pardon?"

They laughed.

"Yeah, well, we're not leaving you out here," said Fred. "We're not monsters."

But all her things were in the Room of Requirement! Her pajamas! Her _toothbrush_.

"You're friends with a first-year Gryffindor, right? Just ask her to borrow a shirt or something."

"And— And where am I supposed to sleep?"

The answer, in the common room, wasn't to her liking. But the twins were relentless and George even threatened to carry her if she refused.

Hermione was surprised when the twins knocked on her door, even more so to see Henry behind them. Thankfully, she was an angel and happily lent the girl her spare pajamas.

"You can share my bed," she offered shyly, "if that's okay."

A shiver went down Henry's back. The beds weren't wide enough so that they wouldn't touch.

But Hermione went out of her way to help her, so she accepted the offer. They bid Fred and George goodnight, and Hermione pointed at her bed.

"Thanks," Henry said quietly so she didn't wake the others. "I really appreciate it."

It was too dark to see, but it looked like Hermione blushed. "It's nothing. You've been kind to me so far, and it's not right that I don't do anything for you."

Henry grinned and snuggled deeper into the warm bed.

* * *

Gryffindor Tower went into an uproar the next day. It began with Hermione's roommates, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, finding Henry next to the girl. Parvati calmed down almost immediately, realising something had to be seriously wrong if Henry went to _Gryffindor_ before her own brother.

Lavender, however, had zero chill. She screamed bloody murder and rushed to get a Prefect, screaming about breakins and evil Slytherins. The only reason the annoyed Prefects didn't throw her out immediately was because Fred, George and Hermione came to Henry's defence.

She caught sight of Ron amidst the chaos of students, glaring at her in suspicion. She cringed. She really wasn't painted in the best of light whenever she met him, was she?

"Let's go," Hermione told her and led her out of the common room. Fred and George were hot on their tail.

For the first time ever, she didn't eat with either Slytherin or Ravenclaw. Her Gryffindor friends refused to leave her alone and insisted she eat with them. So she and Hermione sat with the third-years, Henry sandwiched between Fred and George and Hermione on the other side with Lee Jordan.

She didn't remember much of the rest of the day. Slytherin had Herbology and Charms with Ravenclaw, and she might have scored her House a few points in both classes. Draco and Harry definitely inquired about her eating with Gryffindor, but she sure as hell wasn't telling them about that.

That day's History of Magic was her most productive one yet. She ignored everything Binns said and read straight from the book instead. Finally she had notes of her own.

During dinner (that she ate with Slytherin), Hedwig delivered a letter from Hagrid. It was another tea invite. The owl was rewarded a bit of bacon before she flew off.

That Wednesday, the twins knocked on Hagrid's door a few minutes before the designated time. He was happy to see them, especially when Henry showed him the basket of sweets they'd brought. She had asked Fred and George to help her find the kitchen so she could bake. She'd go mad if she had to pretend to eat another rock cake.

"How's life been since I las' saw yeh?"

Cue Harry going on and on about Quirrell's incompetence (his favourite subject) and all the things he had learned (his second favourite subject).

Hagrid laughed merrily at the boy's enthusiasm. Henry chimed in a few times, about how fun Charms and Herbology was and how Snape definitely had it out for her.

"Bah, rubbish," said Hagrid. "Snape's a good teacher."

They smiled and pretended he had showered them in wisdom. Henry asked about Fang, which set Hagrid off about the creatures he had ever cared for, including the spiders. When he mentioned the Bowtruckles, Henry begged to see them.

The Bowtruckles' tree was unassuming, except the green twig-like creatures slowly climbing up and down it. One of them stopped to peer curiously at the twins. With a nod from Hagrid, Henry reached out to pet it. The Bowtruckle poked her finger and, when she didn't do anything, climbed it.

"He likes yeh," Hagrid said, looking like a proud mum. "Loyal too. Yeh jus' got a friend, Henry!"

She thanked the tiny creature for entertaining her and helped it back to the tree. Hagrid showed them a few other creatures when Daycrusher slid out from the Forest. Harry noticed him first and tugged at Henry's sleeve.

"Distract him," she whispered, nodding at Hagrid. She walked closer to the treeline and hid from the gatekeeper. " _Hello Daycrusssher. How have you been?"_

" _Fine, thank you, ssspeaker,"_ he replied. " _I have finissshed my obssservation of the teachersss."_

Truthfully, she had forgotten about the request. It felt like months since she asked him to spy on them.

" _What did you find?"_

" _The man in all black doesss not like the professsor with the turban. They bicker all the time,"_ Daycrusher told her. " _The turban man talksss to himssself a lot. I followed him the mossst. He wasss sssussspisssciousss."_

She murmured her praises. He hadn't told her anything new, but it was good to know Quirrell was still on track with the plot.

" _Can you keep an eye on him? He'sss dangerousss."_

" _I will."_

"Henrietta?" called Hagrid. Henry bid the snake goodbye and hurried back, saying something about more Bowtruckles.

* * *

Henry gaped at the students waiting for her outside their unofficial classroom. It was Saturday again, and time for their afternoon lessons. For some reason, It wasn't just Harry's friends and Draco, Blaise, Theo and Hermione. Now Parvati was here, as well as Fred and George—and Neville.

 _Harry!_ She gave him a worried look, but he grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. _Not helping._

"Good day," she greeted them and entered the room. They followed like baby ducks. The newcomers followed the others' example and stood a meter away from each other in a straight line.

Henry went to close the door. Making sure no one was looking, she downed a dose of Calming Draught to ease her anxieties.

"Alright, seeing as we have newcomers here, how about we separate into two groups? Harry, can you go over the exercises with them?" He nodded and gathered the strays, moving to the side. "So, I've planned a few new exercises for us," she said to the rest of the group. They help with concentration, and it's something you should do every day from now on. The first one is a breathing exercise." The only thing they had to do for one to three minutes was to keep track of their breathing. They were meant to focus on it and now breathing felt.

As for the other one, they were supposed to feel their bodies. How did the legs feel? Stomach? Arms and head? From what she'd read, you not only learned concentration, but also to listen to what the body wanted or needed.

Henry's group repeated this for thirty minutes, before she asked them to repeat Flipendo, using what they just learned to better control the magic. She wasn't expecting a big difference, but was happy nonetheless when Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein told her their control was much better.

"Fabulous. Now, let's try learning Reparo. Miss Padma, do you know its effect?"

"Uh, it repairs broken things, right?"

"Excellent answer, five points to Ravenclaw." Everyone giggled. "Who of you knows what it _can't_ repair?"

Draco waved his hand, and she nodded at him. "Powerful curses like Fiendfyre," he replied.

"Correct. Five points to Slytherin."

"I wish," Theo whispered under his breath.

The movement she showed them was an unfinished triangle, where the upper half of the left wall was bent inwards. It vaguely reminded her of the Atlantean alphabet from Disney's _Atlantis: The Lost Empire_. She let them break chairs with Flipendo (repelling the poor furniture against the stone walls) and then repair them with Reparo.

Harry's group joined about two hours later, and Henry happily had them do the same exercise. Fred and George, who already knew the spells, sat back and surveyed the situation.

"You're both really good teachers," Fred commented. "Have you ever thought of teaching here after graduation?"

"With the likes of Snape and Quirrell?" Harry shuddered at the thought. "I'd rather travel the world and learn as much magic as possible."

Henry grinned at him before shrugging at Fred's question. "I haven't given my future much thought." Besides surviving past the age of seventeen, of course. Other than that, she didn't know what she wanted to do. Teaching might be fun, but so was traveling with Harry, if he allowed it.

"Well, you have six more years, so it's not something you have to decide immediately," George said, and Fred nodded. "What compelled you to do this, by the way?"

"I'm learning the spells ahead of schedule, and Harry and Draco asked me to teach them too. It kind of grew into this," Henry replied and gestured to the first-years.

"It's a good idea. Tell us if you need any help." Now it was George's turn to nod in agreement.

"Fabulous! How about helping me teach them Aparecium?" The older twins agreed, and the four of them oversaw the others for a while more, before Henry thought they had figured Reparo out. She gathered her students and clapped her hands together.

"Alright, time for some spells," she grinned. "Today I have prepared a few spells for you, the first one being Aparecium. Fred, George, do you know it?"

"Yeah, it's the Revealing Charm," replied Fred. "It reveals hidden messages and stuff."

"Can you perform it?"

"Of course," said George. "Wanna see?" She handed him a notebook she had filled with sentences written in hidden ink. He bowed playfully and held it up in front of Fred.

"Aparecium," the boy said and did the movement. Slowly, the text appeared. "Impressive."

"I say the same thing to you." She took it back and began ripping out pages. "Here, take one each. Fred, do the wand movement again, but slowly. Everyone, repeat after him."

A few hours later, everyone, even Neville, had learned Alarte Ascendare, Aparecium and Ascendio. The only ones she hadn't fully taught were Fred and George, since they were third-years. She had half a mind to read through their curriculum. If she had time, she'd do it. Right now though, she watched everyone leave, even the Weasley twins, after a satisfying lesson.

Theo and Blaise excused themselves as well. They had promised some fifth-year to play Exploding Snap with them. That left Harry, Henry and Draco alone.

"Wanna go for a walk?" Henry suggested. "I need some fresh air."

They trekked down to the shore of the Black Lake and slowly made their way around it. The creatures living in the waters poked their heads up, even the giant squid. It didn't take long for Sirius to join them. Harry nearly cried seeing the big black dog. Sirius was all too happy letting Harry pet and hug him.

"Did you sneak it up here too?" asked Draco. Sirius was currently sniffing his hand. "Henry recognised it last time too."

"His name is Sirius, after the star," Harry explained. "We met in Privet Drive."

"And he followed you all the way to Hogwarts?"

"I always figured he was a magical dog." Harry shrugged. He didn't really care as long as Sirius was here. The dog was part of their family too.

Sirius stuck next to them for the rest of the walk, licking and nibbling on their fingers.

"Feeling better?" Draco asked, having noticed how at peace the twins looked.

Being out in nature and doing nothing in particular calmed them down. Out here, there was no Vernon to shout at them, no Petunia with her frying pan and no Dudley to run away from. It was only the two of them, a quiet place and peace.

"We should come here more often," the Pureblood decided. "Once a week isn't enough. How about two? We can invite the others as well."

"Nah, it's fine with just the four of us." Harry agreed. Sometimes not being surrounded was nice too. Preferable, even.

Draco grinned. "That makes me happy to hear. Come, let's skip rocks."

After the satisfying walk, Harry and Henry left Draco in the library with Hermione and hid themselves deep within its walls.

Appare Vestigium revealed recent magical activity and highlighted it. According to the book, the spell showed itself through a cloud of gold dust and stuck to magical traces. It was a bit overboard, but useful. For when, Henry didn't know, but it was a tracking spell and they needed those.

The second spell they had left was Capacious Extremis, the Expansion Charm. Knowing that spell saved them quite a bit of money. Though they were filthy rich now, it was better to save the money for later than spend it unnecessarily. Who knew when they'd need a huge amount of money next?

Draco and Hermione looked up from their Potions homework when the twins returned. They both rolled their eyes before returning their attention to their tasks. The twins were still amazed Draco was civil with Hermione even when no one else was around.

"What's the homework?" asked Henry, who frankly hadn't bothered to look at it yet.

"The Sleeping Draught." Hermione sighed. "Twenty inches too. Fred Weasley was sure we'd be spared the harsh homework because we're with Slytherin, but he was wrong."

"Probably because of me. Snape can't stand me."

"Or Harry," Draco added. "I'm surprised, actually. I've never seen Uncle Severus that angry. Did you do something to him?"

"I don't think he liked our parents," Henry mumbled and told them about her detention.

Later that night, when she and Harry lay in bed in the Room of Requirement, she elaborated on what she had said.

"You mean to tell me, he's a creep?"

"Not really," cringed Henry. "He's just upset mum chose dad instead of him."

Harry rolled his eyes, annoyed. So what if she chose their father? It was Snape's own fault, joining a terror organisation hellbent on eradicating Muggleborns _like their mother_ because of heartbreak.

"To be fair, dad _did_ bully him."

"And you told me he tried to change after Lily rejected him for it," Harry pointed out. "And what's Snape doing as a teacher anyway? He's horrible to us and he scares the living daylights out of Neville Longbottom. He told me during last afternoon class. Let's not also forget he favours Slytherin to the absurd _and_ discriminates against Gryffindor." He paused, having realised something else. "Did Snape seriously join an organisation that wanted one of his parents dead?" Because Snape was a Halfblood, it meant that either one of his parents were Muggleborn, or his grandparents were.

"Oh." Henry didn't have anything to say to that. Besides, she had never been one of his fans even before she came here, so why bother defending him? "Let's change topics. Can you please help me next Saturday?"

"Of course, what do you need?"

"I was thinking of Transfiguration. I'm shite at it, but you're really good, can't you take over the practical aspects?"

"I can," said with a firm nod. "Anything you need."

She kissed his cheek and asked the Room to go dark.

"Good night, Harry."

"Love you."

* * *

Friday started with double Potions. The students had barely sat down before Snape informed them they were brewing the Sleeping Draught. With a smirk, he said he expected a lot from them, seeing as how they handed in their homework on the potion mere seconds ago.

Draco once again left to get the ingredients while Henry prepped the station. She could feel Snape's heavy gaze on her as she moved around. It was stressful, having the full weight of his attention for so long, and she wished someone made a mistake so he could leave her alone.

"Here," said Draco, spilling the ingredients onto the table. "Are you alright? Your hair's turning pale."

"Drat." She willed it to turn back to normal. She saw Snape's satisfied expression and wished he'd fall down the enchanted stairs. With him behaving like he did, how had people ever taken pity on him? Poor him for not respecting the choice of his best friend. Poor him definitely had the right to turn to the Death Eaters in retaliation.

 _Arse. I wish it was you._ James and Lily never got to see her and Harry grow up. Instead the twins were stuck with _Snape_. _Why couldn't it have been you?_ Not that it was possible, but she wanted to switch Snape with her parents. At least one of them. So much would change if only they were alive. _I wouldn't have to fight for my life._

She shook her head to listen to Draco reading the recipe. There was no use thinking about that. What's done cannot be undone, regardless of how much she wished the opposite.

"Did you hear a word I just said?" sighed Draco.

"You'll add the crushed wormwood while I chop the valerian. When I put it inside, you'll apply the correct amount of heat."

Draco nodded as she rambled on the instructions. "Great."

Henry pulled up her long sleeves and began heating the cauldron. Draco crushed the woodworm and threw it in. Henry added the valerian and moved directly to the Flobberworm (to juice it) while Draco controlled the heat. While he did, she chopped the Sopophorous bean. Without missing a beat, Draco dropped it in the potion. He stirred it as per the recipe and Henry added the last ingredients, 'a sprinkle of powdered asphodel petals and a dash of essence of nettle', as the book said.

"A good sample," was Snape's only comment. "Go read chapter 3 on common potion ingredients and write fifteen inches on why they are so. And one point from Slytherin, Miss Potter, for your insolent staring."

"Excuse you—" Draco covered her mouth with her hand. She swallowed her hateful words and let him drag her back to their bench. "I _hate_ him."

"Here, let's finish this."

They did, and handed their essays to Snape five minutes before the lesson ended. He gave Henry a last glare before releasing them all for lunch.

"You and I need to talk," Henry said and threw herself in Harry's arms. They waved temporary goodbye to Draco, Blaise and Theo before sitting down at their usual place with Ravenclaw.

"Now?" asked Harry. She told him to hurry up and finish eating. "But it's food! Wizarding food!"

"We've cooked half of these on Number Four, it's not like you'll never taste it again."

He pouted throughout eating and gave a last, pitiful glance at it before letting her drag him all the way to the Room of Requirement.

"This better be worth abandoning the food for," he grumbled and placed himself to the far right of the newly conjured sofa.

Henry took a seat as well and put her feet in his lap. "We need to decide what to do with Quirrell and the Stone," she said. "We've been here almost two weeks now, and I'm pretty sure Quirrell tried to get it before New Year. No, I'm 100% sure of that."

"Really?"

"Alright, I'm not, but I'm _very_ sure."

He snorted. "Fine. So, what do we know so far?"

"The stone is protected by enchantments created by certain teachers." There was Hagrid, Professor Sprout, maybe Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall, Snape, Quirrell and Dumbledore, if she remembered correctly. She wasn't sure about the enchantments though. Again, it had been thirteen years since she read _the Deathly Hallows_ last, the seventh book in the series.

"Tell me about the ones you _do_ remember," said Harry.

Of course, there was Fluffy, who guarded the entrance. Then there was Devil's Snare that Henry really didn't want to fight, something about flying keys if she remembered correctly, followed by the biggest set of Wizarding Chess in existence, Snape's potions (that were omitted from the movie, right?) and… what was Quirrell's challenge? Whatever, it had been omitted as well. Lastly, the Stone was hidden in the mirror of Erised.

"And I'm supposed to get it _how_?"

"You kind of… wish for it." She shrugged. "There was something about getting it only if you… if you… what was it?… Right, if you don't want it for yourself. Or similarly."

Harry groaned into his hands. First the Dursleys, and now this. Couldn't he get a quiet and peaceful life once? Pretty please with sugar on top? He didn't care about being a hero, he wanted his books and he wanted peace and quiet.

"Can't you go get it?"

" _Me_?" Henry shook her head. "I'm not stealing your fame!"

"I'm not _him_ , Henry. That Harry doesn't exist. Go take it, I don't care."

"Alright, but you're coming with me!"

That, he could agree to. As long as he didn't get roped into something unnecessary. "When do we do this, then?"

"I dunno. Give me a day or so to read through my journal."

Of course she kept a journal. Though he was cynical, it was good she did. Otherwise they might be more in the dark than they already were.

Lunch neared its end, and with that, their conversation concluded. They'd meet up again on Sunday after Luciana's Occlumency lesson, they decided before departing.

"Oh, and Henry?"

"Yeah?"

"The reason why Snape hates you so much might be because you keep thinking horrible stuff about him in class…"

"Oh for fu— _Come on_!" she growled.

Harry laughed and ran off before she could put him under a spell.

* * *

"Again," Luciana said, looking at Harry. "You're almost there, Mr Potter."

Harry groaned and collapsed to the ground. "I have a headache," he announced, putting his head in Henry's lap. "Feel sorry for me."

Blaise hid a laugh while Draco openly made fun of him. Luciana gave a small, amused smile before once again instructing Harry on how to enter his mental landscape. They were an hour into the lesson and thus far, Blaise was the only one besides Henry to manage it.

"I need a break," Harry decided and refused to move from Henry.

She shook her head and buried her hand in his tousled hair. "See you soon," she said before closing her eyes, sorting out the noise and following her magic down the dark void. Her feet landed soundlessly on the white surface.

Now, she was by no means an architect, but she could experiment until Luciana taught them how to layer their protections. First, she needed somewhere to store her memories. It couldn't be something obvious… and where was she to find them in the first place?

 _Well, I don't need them to make a place for them. But…_ What did memories look like? Could she reshape them into looking like something else? Glass balls, shogi pieces, books?

 _No, too obvious_. Everyone that knew her even a little knew how much she loved to read and study. Books were the first thing an intruder was going to look for. Shogi pieces were too vulnerable as well. Glass balls felt too cliché, like something an intruder would expect.

This was harder than it looked.

It couldn't be something she liked. Then, if they were memories, why not store them in _someone_? There was a fanfic she read once where Harry created a shell in his mind. It looked like him and was supposed to defend his mind should it be breached. Henry could try something similar. If she got the doll to move, it could run off and hide if someone invaded.

And who would ever guess the memories were stored like that?

_Here's to hoping._

This place was made from magic, created by her own mind. All she had to do was to picture a person taking form in front of her. But what should they look like? Her current self? Or should she design it a little, to throw off potential invaders?

She closed her eyes and imagined a girl her age, with sand coloured straight hair and a pale complexion, with almond-shaped eyes the colour of amber.

 _Taller._ The girl should be half a head taller than Henry, with a thin body, slender fingers and a huge birthmark on her right thigh.

She opened her eyes to inspect the result. A girl that looked remarkably human stood unblinking in front of her, stark naked. Right. Henry wished for a t-shirt and skirt to cover the girl before taking a look. She was pretty. Not a model by any means, but then, conventionally beautiful people had never suited her taste.

She blinked. How long had she been staring? Shaking her head, she put her hand on the girl's forehead. Magic surged into the empty doll, filling it with commands. _Protect the memories. If threatened, hide. Move like a human. Speak._

Nothing happened.

"Maybe it's too vague…?" Henry mumbled to herself. Since there were no memories to protect, the doll couldn't fulfill the commands anyway. And what was the definition of hiding when there was nowhere to go?

She turned away from the doll. She didn't want to destroy the landscape, so instead she created more shells to host her memories. Hopefully they could hold more than one memory each, otherwise she had a problem.

By the time Luciana dragged her back to reality, Henry had about a dozen of them.

"Alright, for those of you who can enter your minds, let's move on," the second-year said. She pulled out a black wand and waved it. "Silencio. There, now we won't disturb Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy."

Blaise and Henry moved closer to each other.

"Do you remember the feeling of being dragged down?" She waited for them to nod. "Good. Now, do you remember what it feels like to wake up?"

"Yes," Blaise said slowly, "it's like… I'm being pulled, here, in my chest."

"Correct. That is your magic dragging you back up, figuratively speaking. Or, well, it's me forcing your magic, but either way." She gave them a bright but polite smile.

What they had to do was to pull themselves up. Luciana could do it like the back of her hand, but Blaise and Henry struggled to understand. It was easy to explain it like that, but the reality was that neither of them could force that feeling when they were in their landscapes.

"Try it," Luciana suggested. "I'll give you half an hour."

This time, when Henry closed her eyes, falling into her landscape was almost too easy. The dolls stood where she left them, reminding her a bit of a horror movie.

 _Alright._ She looked up at the sky. Since concentration and intent was the key, she should focus on a particular point to pull herself up. She assumed. _Up!_

Nothing happened.

She giggled. "Of course… Would be too easy otherwise."

Without anything else to do, she lay down on the ground to look at the sky of swirling colours. She focused on a particularly big swirl and relaxed, as if hypnotized. That vague pulling feeling interrupted her and she gasped, returning to her body.

"Wha— What?" For a brief moment, she thought she did it.

"Your thirty minutes are up," said Luciana gently. "Let's stop here for now."

They gathered their things, thanked her and left to take a walk around the lake. Harry pulled Henry behind the boys.

"I think I can do it," he whispered. "Next time, I mean."

"The landscape thing?" He nodded. "Brilliant! But how?"

"I was still leaning against you when you dove, or whatever I should call it. I felt your magic do something weird. I can probably mimic it."

She sighed. Of course he could, he was Harry Potter, magical genius. He was good at everything, even Transfiguration.

"Don't forget who's the afternoon teacher," he reminded her.

Yeah, because she had had the foresight to learn the spells beforehand. _And_ he was going to help her from now on.

"Jealous? That's a first."

"Just shut up." Her smile took the edge of her words.

Sirius joined them on the walk and the twins introduced him to Blaise. The boy fell in love immediately and couldn't stop showering Sirius with pats and hugs. It was adorable how the usually distant boy melted in front of a grown adult in a dog's body.

The mers began singing when they saw the group. Henry rolled her eyes. Luckily they stayed under water. Otherwise she'd go deaf.

Harry and Henry excused themselves from the boys when they came back to the castle. They needed some alone time, but would see them for dinner, they promised. Draco and Blaise were used to it by now, so they left without complaint.

"Alright," said Harry. They were now in the Room of Requirement. "How about a plan? When does Quirrell go for the Stone in the book?"

"I thought it was in December," said Henry, "but looking through my notes, it seems it's more like right before the end of the year."

"Wow, you were off by… a lot." She threw a conjured pillow at him. "Hey! Be nice. I'm your favourite brother."

She grinned evilly. "You're my _only_ brother, dork."

"So? I'm automatically your favourite."

She snorted. "Whatever feeds your ego. Now, how about we steal the Stone on Christmas break? There won't be many students here."

"True, but at the same time, the teachers will have it easier checking up on us." He had a point. However, they hadn't followed the original plot, meaning the teachers had no reason to suspect them of anything. They wouldn't be looking for someone trying to break in.

"How about we do it on the last day?"

"I don't know… But alright, if you think it's the best choice." He nodded, determination clear in his eyes. "We need a plan for the enchantments too."

"Devil's Snare doesn't like heat or light, so we just have to cast a strong Lumos on it," Henry brainstormed, jotting down her thoughts in the journal. "Fluffy falls asleep listening to music—Quirrell enchanted a harp to play, we need to learn that spell—and… you take care of the keys."

"The keys?" Harry repeated. "Alright, but why?"

Because Henry absolutely refused to fly around on a broom trying to catch the right one. He was one in love with flying, not she.

"There's also a giant chess board… Ron took care of it in the series, and I can't play to save a life. How about you?"

"Jesus, no," laughed Harry. "I've never played. Do you think we can fly over it, using that broom?"

Henry _really_ didn't want to, but admitted it might work. These people didn't have common sense, they probably didn't think anyone would fly over any of the tasks.

"We can try," she said faintly. "But if you drop me, know I will haunt you forever."

He grinned. "I'll be careful. Just don't let go."

They moved on to Snape's task.

"If it's a riddle, I'll take care of it," Harry volunteered. "I'm still surprised you got into Ravenclaw Tower without help." Another pillow went for his head. "Has anyone told you how violent you are?"

"Be glad it's not a book."

In the end, they came up with half a plan, which relied on Quirrell not reading their minds during class (could he do that?) and for the tasks to remain the same as in the series. Otherwise they had to improvise.

* * *

"You have to do something about Pansy," said Fred the next day after school. It was Monday, meaning Henry was in an incredibly good mood. Mondays were the best, because she had two lessons in a row with Harry.

Fred and George had kidnapped her to a secret passageway where they could talk in peace. Since she finally slept during the nights, it meant their nightly adventures had come to a stop.

"I thought you planned some epic prank to avenge me."

"We are, but you have to learn to stand up for yourself," said George, sitting down and leaning against the wall. Fred and Henry did the same.

"I don't know what to do." They'd already gone over this once. There was no evidence, the majority of Slytherin would back Pansy and Snape hated Henry.

 _Should have gone to Ravenclaw,_ she grumbled.

"How about getting your own revenge? Or scare her into stop harassing you?"

"Fred…" She sighed. "I don't want people to fear me. And I don't like revenge. Hate only brings more hate." And she wasn't keen on Pansy's retaliation, because she definitely would try it.

"Whatever, we're still teaching you how to protect yourself," said George. "We know a few good spells. Just in case she tries to hex you."

The spells they were thinking of were Impedimenta and Locomotor Wibbly, also known as the Impediment Jinx and Jelly-Legs Curse. According to Fred, Impedimenta either stopped or slowed down the target. It was a necessary spell for duelling, and one Henry was eager to learn.

Locomotor Wibbly was a dark charm, which was why the Charms book didn't cover it. Dark charms, explained George, were spells created with malicious or harmful intent. Since Dark magic was taboo, the books didn't cover it or the spells associated with it.

The Jelly-Legs Curse's effect was, as the name suggested, to collapse the legs of the victim, as if they were jelly.

"If you use it with the Pimple Jinx, tentacles pop up on your face instead!" laughed Fred. "Amazing, isn't it? We tried it on Lee when we first heard of it."

She felt sorry for the boy.

"But are you alright with learning Dark spells?" George asked before showing her the wand movement for Locomotor Wibbly. "I mean… after You-Know-Who…"

"Know thy enemy," Henry quoted. She had no idea who'd said it first or if she'd got it right though. "If I want to protect myself from Voldemort's followers, I need to research the spells they use, and learn the counterspells at the very least. I'm not picky, but thanks for worrying."

He ruffled her hair. "Good. Let's start. And please, stop saying his name."

She got the hang of Impedimenta almost immediately. Proud, she grinned at the twins, who gave her more pats. She felt a bit like a dog, but she found she liked the affection it brought, so it was fine.

Locomotor Wibbly was trickier. She couldn't figure out why, maybe because she kept thinking of not wanting to harm the boys. They stopped after a while and promised to resume the training the next day.

"I'm starving," said Fred. "Let's go!"

They passed the third floor on their way to the Great Hall. All three of them shivered and walked faster down the moving staircase. They still hadn't gotten over Fluffy.

"Now that I think about it," said George. "That Hellhound must be Hagrid's."

"Yeah, he's the only one with enough knowledge to keep something that big," Fred agreed. "Why even guard something precious here to begin with?"

"Isn't Hogwarts almost as safe as Gringots?" Henry asked. Though that was bollocks to her, honestly. In the series, both Hogwarts and the bank had been laughably easy to sneak into. Or at least it felt like it. But she wasn't about to let Harry run head first into the Ministry because of Voldemort's visions. She wasn't losing Sirius this time.

"Ah, true," the boys agreed.

"Let's… let's not talk about this anymore." George shivered again. "I feel like the dog will come running after us if we keep mentioning it."

Fred froze for a moment. "Nope, I want to live. There's so many pranks I haven't done yet."

They entered the Hall, filled to the brim with students. Henry made a move to join her friends, but Fred grabbed her sleeve and steered her to their table. Frowning, she let him. A few minutes later, she understood why. Someone from her table screamed in rage. The shouts escalated until most of Slytherin stood up. Their faces were turning green with silver dots.

"Poor Draco and Blaise," said Henry, having a hard time trying not to laugh. She saw Pansy raging about her appearance to Draco, who looked away, bothered.

"You like it?" whispered Fred.

"Very much. I appreciate it a lot. Thanks." She had to apologise to Draco, Blaise and Theo though. They didn't deserve the wrath of the Weasley twins.

As she suspected, when she followed them to the dungeons, not one student was happy. Pansy was the angriest, throwing insults Henry's way because she hadn't eaten with them. She was sure she had asked the Weasley twins to prank them. Many Slytherins nodded, admitting it was suspicious _and_ knew for a fact Henry almost never stayed in the common room. Most of them only saw her during class.

"If I was allowed to sleep in my own room, this wouldn't have happened," Henry whispered under her breath.

"You _what_?" Draco pulled her to a stop. "You're not allowed in your room?"

"Uh." She hadn't meant for him to hear that. "Oops?"

"Oops?" He turned red with anger. "Pansy Parkinson!" He stomped over to the pale girl. Surrounded by their Housemates, his explosion was on display for everyone to see. It wasn't pretty, seeing him shouting at Pansy, but Henry didn't feel sorry at all, not even when the girl began to cry. She ran off, bumping into Henry as she did. Henry reeled from the pain. Her whole arm shook from disgust.

That wasn't the end of Pansy, though. The girl had a heart of stone. She quickly pulled herself together, and for the next week, Henry made sure to evade her even more. It ended with Draco and Blaise sitting with Ravenclaw all the time, since Henry refused to sit with Slytherin and the boys wanted to see her even after class.

Being protected by Draco and Blaise (and occasionally Theo), as well as Fred and George and Harry, it was hard for Pansy to retaliate against Henry. She tried following the girl once, wanting to know where she slept at night, but instead of going to the Room of Requirement, she took a few hidden passages to lose her and went to sleep with Hermione.

Where were all the teachers during this? They didn't suspect a thing. During lessons, everyone acted like Slytherin wasn't in the middle of a civil war. Hufflepuff knew nothing about it, of course. Most of Gryffindor were in the dark as well. She wasn't sure about Ravenclaw, but at least the first-years had to suspect something was off, seeing as Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini suddenly ate breakfast, lunch and dinner with them.

"Is there anything wrong, Miss Potter?" asked Snape that Friday during double Potions. "It seems you refuse to eat with your House."

"I apologise, Professor," she said politely, without taking her eyes off her cauldron. "It's just that I miss Harry something terrible. Having only two lessons a week with him is too little."

"Is that why you invited Mr Malfoy and Mr Zabini as well?"

"No, they are simply loyal friends." He looked ready to sneer at her, so she added, "I hope mum and dad had friends like that." He promptly excused himself.

"Should I ask him to talk to Pansy?" asked Draco.

"No, I don't think he'll help me, even if it's for your sake. But thanks anyway."

Their progress in Occlumency stagnated as well. Harry and Draco finally reached their mental landscapes, but no one could figure out how to leave without Luciana's help. Instead they focused on layering their protections. They had to literally build things around their memories, places where they could hide their thoughts and emotions. Like a maze or a skyscraper. Henry worked on digging underground, creating a maze of tunnels, before deciding what to do about above ground. She still hadn't found her memories though. Luciana's words of wisdom, "They're there, you just have to call for them," went over her head.

Classes and the afternoon class were the only things that went mostly fine. She was still slow in Transfiguration, but with Harry's help, she made progress.

The afternoon class grew a little bigger, with Lee Jordan joining them at the end of September. When October 1st arrived, Henry couldn't believe it had only been a month. She felt at least fifty years older. How was she to wait two months more until Christmas break?

She spent a lot of her spare time playing games with her friends. They spent most of their time in the library, teaching her and Harry and Hermione several wizarding games, including chess. Henry quickly gave that up, because she couldn't read the board or her opponent.

Harry began spending more time with Fred, George and Lee. Somehow they had roped him in with talks of pranks. He now spent a lot of time researching funny spells, on top of helping her with the afternoon class _and_ their own research. How he managed, Henry had no idea.

"You should talk to Pansy," said Draco one day in the middle of October. "Maybe you can agree on a truce?"

Not likely, but she entertained him by promising she would. She strode into her dorm room that very afternoon, determined to get it over and done with.

"Truce?" Pansy said with a laugh. "Why would I do that?"

"Because Draco wants it."

She glared at her. "You stole him from me, what makes you think I'll agree to a truce with you?"

This was why Henry didn't want to confront her. "You don't own him, Pansy, he's not a slave. He decides who he wants to be friends with, not you."

"Filthy attention seeker."

"Says the girl that's been trying to get Draco's since the first day of school."

Pansy shrieked and threw a pillow at her. Henry caught it and threw it back, hitting Pansy in the face.

"You're pathetic," she told the girl. "How Draco became your friend, I can't understand. If this is how you've always acted, I feel sorry for him." She turned to leave.

"Colloshoo!"

Henry cursed colourfully. Her feet were firmly stuck to the floor. Had she actually fallen, her wrists would have snapped.

"Colloportus," Pansy said, locking the door.

Henry was beginning to worry.

"What are you doing?" she asked the girl, unable to look over her shoulder.

"Teaching you a lesson. Confundo."

The world spun, Henry feeling something akin to a velvet blanket falling over her consciousness. Confused, she shook her head. This wasn't good, she had to get out of the room before Pansy did something worse, but she couldn't think straight.

"What are you mumbling about?" Pansy sneered, taking a step closer. "You're pathetic, Potter, just look at you!"

"Ut, måste ut… Måste till Harry… Rehnholm… Så _det_ var mitt namn?" What was she saying? "Stop talking."

Pansy grinned. "You're mad, you know that, right?"

"Not mad," Henry mumbled, trying to set her thoughts straight. She had to do something, what was it? Oh, right, get out of here.

Did Colloshoo have a counterspell? What was it?

"Collo… collo… to stick together…"

_Dimittas? Dimi…_

"Dimishoo?" By some miracle, her feet let go of the floor and she crashed into the door. "Alo… Alohomora." The door opened and she staggered out.

"Where do you think you're going?" Pansy shouted after her.

"Colloportus."

Something hard slammed into the door, probably Pansy's face. Henry didn't stay to figure it out. She walked like a drunk through the corridor and down the stairs, careful not to fall, because everything moved and her legs felt like jelly.

"Henry?" Draco's voice drifted over to her. "How'd it go? Henry? Henry, what's wrong?"

She said something, but she didn't know what. It didn't matter though, because Pansy was coming down the stairs, hissing about Henry being rude and that someone should get Professor Snape.

"Pansy, is this your doing?" Draco practically growled.

Pansy didn't reply. She stalked past him to Henry, who was held upright by Blaise. "You nasty wench! How dare you?"

"Sluta," Henry whispered, feeling seasick. Note to self, Confundo was a powerful spell. Better learn it.

Pansy was stopped in her tracks by Theo and Draco. They grabbed her arms, but she stomped on their feet. The closer she got, the worse Henry felt. She ripped herself from Blaise and moved backwards.

"Stay away."

"You're leaving," said Pansy. "Get out. You're not a Slytherin. We're noble, pure, and you're tainting us. How dare you waltz in here like you own the place?"

Henry squinted her eyes. Pansy had three heads now. "When…? When did I…" She couldn't think straight. Thoughts left before they could fully form.

Pansy reached her. Raised her hand. A tiny, slender hand that at most would twinge if it hit. But that wasn't what Henry saw. She saw Dudley slapping Harry's cheek, saw Vernon hit her over the head. She saw him punch her so hard her nose broke.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Henry fell to the ground, her body now heavy. People screamed. Why were they screaming?

"Call Professor Snape!"

"Pomfrey! Madam Pomfrey!"

"DUMBLEDORE, GET DUMBLEDORE!"

She blinked. The stone floor was getting wet. Water pooled around her, soaking her stockings, her shoes, her skirt. Where did the water come from?

She didn't want to look up. If she did, she'd see something terrible, something she couldn't unsee. But she had to. So she did.

Someone screamed again. Draco? Was it Draco? Her? Oh. It _was_ her. Then others joined in. They screamed and screamed and screamed because there was blood blood blood blood _everywhere_ and the glass wall was broken and water was coming in and someone lay on the ground beneath was that Pansy oh it _was_ and she wasn't moving and people were still _g_ could they just STOP IT she was tired of hearing them scream.

"Someone," a person shouted, "does someone know a healing spell?"

Henry did. Episkey only healed minor injuries but maybe the bleeding would stop. She found herself beside Pansy, mumbling "Episkey Episkey Episkey" over and over, forcing her magic to comply even though she didn't use her wand.

There was so much _blood_. On her hands and in her skin and soaking into her clothes and her hair turned blood red and probably her eyes as well and wow did she do that how did she do that if only Pansy stopped COMING CLOSER then this wouldn't have happened and Harry she wanted Harry where was Harry.

"Vulnera Sanentur, can someone perform it?!"

Henry blinked. What was that? A healing spell?

 _Do it,_ she ordered her magic. _Just do it._

Suddenly, she was jerked away from the dying girl. Her body convulsed and shivered and did other strange things and she was screaming herself hoarse again because DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME and then that someone was gone gone gone and she kept screaming and crying and Draco was talking to her but she couldn't hear because WHY DID PEOPLE KEEP TOUCHING HER.

A hand on her head.

" _Sleep_ ," was the order.

She fell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I'm not translating the Swedish for you. It contains mild spoilers for something that won't be relevant until much later. Like, so late I don't know when. See you in the next chapter!
> 
> And Daycrusher is useful and necessary, I promise! It's not just because I wanted Harry and Henry to have a pet snake... *Cough* All right, that's one reason, but not the biggest!


	10. Salvation and Retaliation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mental unhealth is to be taken seriously. It has real consequences for people suffering from it. This comes from someone that's been dealing with mental breakdowns since she was thirteen.
> 
> But it gets better. It always gets worse beforehand, but we're finally on the way there.
> 
> Thank you for reading!

She woke up. Blinking back tears, she sat up slowly and took in her surroundings. Bright stone walls and grey stone floor, beds everywhere. She was in the Hospital Wing.

Memories from before flooded her mind and she gasped. What had she done? Oh Lord, what if Pansy—

_Don't._

She looked at her hands. Her red hands. Her bloodstained hands. Instead of working herself into another panic attack, she calmly left the bed and washed her hands in the sink. The blood didn't disappear. She kept scrubbing until her heart clenched. Why wasn't it going away?

"Miss Potter, I advise you to go back to bed."

"The blood won't disappear," she told Madam Pomfrey. "I'll go back as soon as it's gone."

The medi-witch walked up to her and examined her hands. She didn't touch her.

"There's no blood, Miss Potter. Please go back to bed."

Henry paused. Looked at her hands. Was she hallucinating? She let Madam Pomfrey walk her back to bed.

The witch handed her a vial of something she couldn't identify. It was the Draught of Peace. Apparently the woman had forced her to take one already. Henry didn't want to know the details.

She had sustained no physical injuries, but Madam Pomfrey wasn't about to let her go. She handed Henry her Charms book, because Harry had come by to leave it.

"For some light reading," he'd said. "For when she wakes up."

He was the best brother she could have asked for.

She spent a few hours going through all the spells, again sorting which ones she should learn first. It got boring after a while, since neither of her friends nor Sirius or Daycrusher were there to keep her entertained. If she'd been any good at Occlumency, she could have gone to keep working on her layers. She had literally stacked layers upon each other, a bit like the castle from _Sword Art Online_. So far, she had three of them. She wanted a hundred.

Being bored was never good. Her thoughts kept coming back to the inevitable, of what happened to Pansy. Hopefully she hadn't killed her. She hadn't meant to, just wanted the girl to keep her distance, to not hurt her.

Sadness claimed her heart. She was disappointed, she realised, that despite her best efforts, her magic was still as volatile as when she was younger. It didn't matter that she had better control. It was frustrating.

 _It's going to be okay,_ she tried to cheer herself up.

 _How?_ another part replied. _You hurt another student. You might have killed them. Remember Marge's dog?_

She didn't want to remember. She wanted Harry to hold her and Draco to smile at her and Blaise to roll his eyes at them. But that wasn't possible anymore. She was a danger to others and had hurt someone. They must have expelled her already, and that had to be the reason they didn't let her out: Someone was coming to take her away, probably someone from the Ministry.

She blinked. Odd. She should be hysterical by now, but she was calm as a cucumber. Whatever Madam Pomfrey gave her, it worked even better than the Calming Draught. Could she persuade the witch to give her more? Or at least the recipe?

The doors opened. She sighed, defeated, and looked at her hands. Whatever they had to say, she hoped they would hurry up. She didn't want to stay here for longer than necessary. The plot was out of her hands now. Harry had to get through it without her. She could leave him her journal, she supposed, and send him letters. They had to be written in code of course, so no one could read them.

"Miss Potter."

This was the first time Dumbledore spoke to her. He sounded old, weary, like he shouldn't be there. Like he didn't want to.

She didn't answer.

"Do you have time?" He waited a moment before conjuring a chair to sit on. "We are in quite the predicament at the moment, care to guess why?"

Why was he even asking? Of course she knew.

"Miss Potter, I would greatly appreciate an explanation. We need to know why you attacked Miss Parkinson and Professor Snape."

She looked up at him. When had Snape gotten involved? Was he the one that dragged her away from Pansy?

"My girl, we need to sort this out."

 _My girl?_ She mentally sneered. _Don't call me that._ She wasn't his anything. He abandoned them to the Dursleys and had the audacity to pretend he didn't know exactly how they had grown up. And now he was trying to be nice?

Dumbledore sighed and stood. "I will be back. In the meantime, I hope you won't get in trouble."

She dearly wanted to retaliate, to rant about literally everything, but bit her lip. It was exactly what he wanted and she wasn't giving him that. Not right now, when she was angry. And not to him.

After he left, she counted the cracks visible on the ceiling. It was a dome and far up, so she couldn't see very well the paintings on it. Not that it mattered. Nothing did, right now. The only thing she felt was tiredness. She had no strength to do anything, and she was already bored with her mind. It kept going back to Pansy and Snape, and when she steered away from it, her mind suggested thinking of Quirrell. Like that did any good. Daycrusher's reports only served to assure her Quirrell wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. He was stuttering when together with someone and had one-sided conversations with himself when he thought no one was watching.

 _Forty-seven,_ she counted. There were forty-seven cracks in the ceiling visible from where she lay.

If only she had her wand. Snape must have taken it from her and handed it to Dumbledore for safekeeping. Would they snap it in half, like they did Hagrid's? She hoped not, it was a waste on such a marvelous piece of art. She wanted it now, to practice magic. She still had spells to learn, Confundo being one of them. That other spell she had used, Vulnera-something, she should learn as well. From what she remembered seeing, it was more effective than Episkey.

Madam Pomfrey checked on her once every twenty minutes. She never said anything about what happened or where Pansy was (probably St Mungo's), but knowing Henry wasn't alone made the visits feel better.

She finished the Charms book in time to get a visit from Harry. He looked tired, his face pale and his robes in disarray. He fell into the chair Dumbledore left behind and threw himself on her lap.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

Henry dragged her fingers through his hair. "Bored. There's nothing to do but stare and think and read. Speaking of which, I hope you brought a new book." She handed him the one she finished.

"How about Herbology?" He put hers in his bag and gave her his copy of _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_. "Um, Henry?" She waited for him to gather some courage. "What happened?"

"Good question, I can't remember half of it," she admitted. Whenever she thought back to the ordeal, her memories got fussy. That's Confundo for you. "How's… how's Pansy?"

She had been right, Pansy was currently in St Mungo's for her injuries. Her parents had complained to Dumbledore already, and the Headmaster was currently conducting an investigation together with someone from one of the Ministries, Harry hadn't asked which one.

Pansy was alive only because of Henry's use of Episkey and Vulnera Sanentur. Theo had told him that, according to what he had heard, she would make a full recovery, though it would take a while.

"That's good," murmured Henry. "What happened to the common room?"

"Nearly flooded." He tried to smile, but it turned into a sad grimace. "Merlin, Henry, what did she _do_ to you?"

At least _he_ was on her side. Now that the cat was out of the bag, she might as well tell him the whole truth.

Harry couldn't believe his ears. Henry had withstood Pansy's harassment for nearly a month and a half. Why? Why hadn't she just told anyone? Fred and George didn't count, because she had told them not to do anything and their prank didn't count.

"I was just tired. And besides, it gave me time to practice my spells in peace," was Henry's feeble reply. "And… I didn't want to burden you."

"That's about the dumbest thing you could do," Harry deadpanned. "We're family, you know, and we always tell each other everything. Or, at least _I_ do. Dunno why I bother when you don't."

Henry glared.

"Don't look at me like that," he snapped. "For the time being, I'm fine. I haven't been this happy once in my life, so don't try to tell me you tried to protect me. I'm not that weak, not physically and not mentally. So if something similar happens, _tell me_."

"Alright… I promise."

"Great! Now, here's my notes for the classes you missed. These are Hermione's, Blaise's, Draco's… Theo isn't done copying his yet. And here's the homework. You can copy mine if you'd like."

She let him pour everything onto her lap, astonished so many people went out of their way to help her. They were her friends, she knew that, but she never expected them to do something like this.

"Does this… does this mean I haven't been expelled?"

Harry's eyebrows disappeared beneath his bangs. "Expelled? No, not until the investigation finishes, at least. A few Slytherin first-years came forward almost immediately to defend you, you know. Adam Beakley and… Choi, was his surname, I think."

"Finlei," Henry remembered. Why were _they_ helping her? They'd only had one conversation, and Finlei Choi hadn't even said anything.

"Right, that's the one. I don't think the Parkinsons can do much about it. You have Draco and Blaise and even Theo on your side, as well as the Halfbloods and Muggleborns in Slytherin. Everyone's talking about Pansy harassing not only the ones in her own House, but others as well."

Henry must be dreaming, because this was too good to be true. Someone must be joking. It couldn't be this easy. The Slytherin students were tight, they wouldn't rattle each other out.

Harry read her like an open book and sighed. "They might be loyal to each other, but even that has its limits. Pansy overstepped."

Hery found she wished everything proceeded smoothly from here on out. She didn't have the energy to deal with more of this.

"How long was I out for?"

"Two days."

So it was Thursday.

"I see. Thanks for helping me."

Harry kissed her forehead. "Of course. Is there anything else you want?"

A chance to start this school year over.

"A hug." He immediately agreed and greeted Madam Pomfrey on his way out. The medi-witch asked to examine her again. She found nothing out of the ordinary. Henry asked for another dose of the Draught of Peace, which the witch got her.

Dumbledore returned that evening, sometime after dinner. This time, he had Snape with him. The old man took the chair while Snape stood behind him like a threatening bodyguard. Or angel of death, whichever one preferred.

"Pansy tried to touch me," she said calmly before they had a chance to open their mouths. "She was about to slap me."

Snape scoffed. He must have seen she was working on the Potions homework. "Excessive violence is not tolerated for any reason, Miss Potter. You ought to be expelled."

_Then do it, you ugly cow._

His glare intensified.

"Now now, Severus. Don't be so hard on her. If she speaks the truth, she had a right to protect herself."

The hidden message, that she was still in trouble for nearly killing a student, was received and ignored. She had figured that out already. It didn't take a genius.

"Could you please look at me, Miss Potter?" asked Dumbledore gently.

"No." Her Occlumency wasn't very good yet, and she didn't want to risk looking into his eyes. "I have to finish these as soon as possible."

"Such a studious child," Dumbledmore murmured. "Miss Potter, what else has Miss Parkinson done to you?"

She cocked her head to the side, trying to remember. She had insulted her, her brother and her mother, treated Draco like she owned him, taken her things and ruined her books. She had thrown her out of her own dorm room so she had to sleep in classrooms, with Harry and Hermione. There was probably more, but those were the incidents she remembered most.

"But I have no proof," she said with a shrug. "Which was why, in case you wanted to know, I never told anyone."

"Thank you for your time, Miss Potter." Dumbledore stood. "I will not expel you for your actions, however I think detention for the rest of the year will suffice instead."

"Can they be on Friday afternoons or early Saturday morning?" she asked, not wanting her mistake to punish the afternoon class and Occlumency lessons.

"As you wish."

Before they left, Henry called out to Snape. "I'm sorry if I hurt you. I didn't mean to."

He gave her a long look she couldn't decipher. He sighed. "I understand, Miss Potter. Apology accepted."

She had a funny feeling it wasn't _her_ he'd seen just now.

* * *

She was let go the next day, as well as excused from class. Snape escorted her to the common room, where the glass was now fixed, and inspected her room in case someone (Pansy) had rigged it with spells. He left after deeming it fit for use. Henry didn't comment on the missing fourth bed.

The homework she dumped on the bed, then she set off to the Room of Requirement to get the rest of her stuff. Thankfully, she had found a worn satchel with the Expansion Charm cast on it, so she didn't have to go a second time.

She finished homework and read through the notes, glad she had spent all those extra hours studying in advance. Daphne and Millicent returned during lunch, stating they thought she might not want to eat in the Great Hall. The truth was that she had forgotten the time. She followed them upstairs, where Draco (after asking for permission) gave her a hug. Blaise patted her on the shoulder. Even Theo gave her a relieved smile.

Instead of returning to the dorm after lunch, she went to see Dumbledore to get her wand back. It was when facing the stone statue she remembered she didn't know the password.

"Drat," she muttered under her breath. "Professor Dumbledore?" she tried calling. There was no reply, so she left for the library. Might as well study that spell Quirrell used in the movie to make the harp play by itself.

Shelf after shelf she looked through, and at one point even asked Madam Pince for help, but to no avail. It had to be an obscure branch of magic if even the Hogwarts librarian couldn't help her.

She was reading through a book about old Pureblood families when someone's shadow fell over her. It was Luciana. Today she wore a green and silver diadem.

"Good afternoon," she greeted the younger girl. "How are you doing, Miss Potter?"

"Depends on what you mean."

"Right now, how are you feeling? Can I sit?"

Henry nodded and Luciana took a seat opposite of her.

"I'm feeling calm. I couldn't get my wand back from Dumbledore—I don't know the password—and I haven't found the spell I'm looking for, but I can't work myself up about it." Thank you Jesus for the Draught of Peace. Whoever created it should have won a prize.

"The password is 'licorice lollipop'," Luciana said with an earnest smile. "What kind spell is it?" She nodded along to Henry's brief explanation. "I know of one, Musica Aeternam."

"Oh!" Henry exclaimed. How had she not thought about that one? "Thanatos Roserage, of course! I'm so stupid."

Luciana shook her head. "Not stupid, just preoccupied. Do you have time to learn it now?" She led Henry to the nook they usually used for Occlumency.

The movement for Musica Aeternam was an eight, or rather the symbol for eternity. Luciana transfigured a book into a harmonica and used the spell on it. Afterwards, she let Henry work on the movement while she herself sat down with homework.

Her break ended before Henry got the hang of it. She thanked the second-year for taking her time teaching her.

"Of course, it's an honour. See you on Sunday." She transfigured the harmonica back to its original form and left.

Henry kept working on the wand movement, but gave up after an hour. She didn't have an instrument to train on anyway.

But that wasn't totally true, was it? Hagrid had gifted Harry a flute in the book. It wasn't Christmas yet, sure, but that didn't mean he didn't have other instruments lying around. In the movie, she remembered him playing _something_ when the Golden Trio came to interrogate him. If she was lucky, that particular detail translated to this world.

She hurried down to his hut. He was about to make his rounds to the creatures he cared for, and was happy to let her accompany him. They went to the Bowtruckles first. Hagrid recognised the one she played with the first time, and laughed when it reached for her again. She happily let it climb onto her shoulder while they moved into the Forbidden Forest. She was certain she wouldn't get in trouble with Hagrid protecting her.

"Oh, I know those," she said and looked at the little den close to a small pond. "You keep flobberworms, Hagrid?"

"Right I do! Snape need 'em for potions an' stuff, an' the elves for your food."

Henry stared at him, horrified. Had the house-elves fed them worms?

They moved on. Hagrid told her about the giant squid, the Grindylows and the pack of Hippogriffs that lived there. Feeding them was tricky, but she vaguely remembered how Harry had done it in the movie.

"An' lower," said Hagrid, "bow lower."

The Hippogriff she tried feeding accepted her acknowledgements and happily snacked on the dead ferret she threw it.

It was when they were on their way back she saw them, ghostly black horses, with their skin stretched so thin it was translucent. They had no hair on their bodies whatsoever and frankly, they looked creepy as all hell.

"Thestrals?"

"Hm?" Hagrid looked to where she was looking. "Yeh see summet?" He paused when he noticed the creatures. "Ah… Might want teh avoid 'em."

But Henry didn't want to. Compelled, she moved closer, careful to not make any sudden sounds or movements. The Thestrals saw her immediately and turned their milky white eyes her way.

"Henry, _no_ ," Hagrid hissed and grabbed her. "They're dangerous." The shrill shriek that followed his words got him on edge. "They dun like strangers, Henry, let's go." But they didn't get that far. A foal left the herd and went straight for them, slowing down the closer it got. Curiously, it reached forward to sniff Henry's hand, so she let it.

"Tell me about them."

As she remembered, they were only visible for those having seen death. The horrible shriek they just heard was a Thestral communicating.

"They're dead clever," Hagrid explained and patted the foal, "an' loyal to boot. Nothin' o' that mean talk the Ministry says, I assure yeh! They're not death omens, just different."

"They're beautiful in a macabre way," Henry agreed. "They look like Death's henchmen, so I can understand the sentiment though."

Hagrid scoffed.

"Can they be trained?"

"Hard to do, but possible," was Hagrid's answer. "They're XXXX classified, after all." At her frown, he added, "It's one o' five categories, yeh see. X is boring, XX is harmless, XXX says only experienced wizards can handle 'em, XXXX is dangerous and XXXXX are known to kill wizards."

"I see." She was definitely reading up more on magical creatures later. As of now though, she had other things to concern herself with. "Thanks Hagrid, for letting me go with you."

"Thank yeh for coming." He patted her back (and nearly sent her flying) before coaxing the Bowtruckle to come with him back to its tree.

"Aw, I like you too," Henry said when it refused, "but won't your friends worry if you don't go back soon?" It finally hopped onto Hagrid's big palm. "Thank you! I promise I'll come back." She left them and hurried back to Dumbledore's office. With the password still fresh in her mind, she wanted her wand back.

He was surprised to see her, but nodded in understanding when she stated her reasons.

"Why did you take it?" she asked and watched him retrieve it from an ornate cabinet behind his desk. She gaped at the amount of wards surrounding it. What was this, did they think it was a bomb?

"We couldn't be too sure," he said and turned, "what would happen if we left it in your possession."

She took the offered wand and smiled in relief. The wand sent that same pulse of warmth up her arm as when it first chose her, signalling it recognised her. That posed the question if wands were semi sentient, since they chose their partner and not the other way around.

Shaking her head, she looked at Dumbledore. "What do you mean, sir?"

"We wanted to make sure you didn't unconsciously use the wand, if you felt threatened and the like."

"I… Okay."

He gave a grandfatherly smile at her confusion. "What happened three days ago was extraordinary, Miss Potter. Rarely have I witnessed such a powerful outburst of pure magic. That wand of yours was pulsating rapidly when we confiscated it, and Severus nearly dropped it because it was so hot."

Did wands grow warm when used? She couldn't remember if it fit canon or not.

"That wand of yours is incredibly loyal," he continued explaining. "It reacted like that because it realised Severus was not you."

"I… am sorry for all the trouble I have caused."

"No need. But let me ask, do you still experience accidental magic?"

"Since getting my wand?" He nodded. "Well… no. It was rare even before that, the older I got, I mean. It's the same for Harry." She shrugged, avoiding eye contact. She looked at the bridge of his nose instead. "I've… always known my magic is volatile, but I thought it had calmed down over the years."

"Or what you perceived as threats changed," Dumbledore added.

She gave him a long, almost accusatory look. "Or that. Thank you for giving me my wand back, and for not expelling me."

"You have potential, Miss Potter. I would be sad to see you go."

Another odd look was sent his way before she disappeared down the stairs again. It was possible she would never trust him again, after being abandoned with the Dursleys and ignored for ten years. At least Henry wasn't going to fight to improve her view of him.

She headed straight for the library when a thought hit her. Stopping dead in her tracks, she cursed colourfully. The trip with Hagrid had side-tracked her from her objective! Darn it, she had to go back. She'd do it tomorrow, she decided. Right now though, she wanted to learn Confundo, Musica Aeternam and Vulnera Sanentur.

* * *

Long story short, she wasn't in the right mindset. She kept thinking back to how easily the promise of seeing magical creatures had gotten her off-track, then her thoughts spiralled out of control. It began with her thinking back to the Thestrals, then she remembered Pansy almost dying, and of course at that point she was too busy not drowning in panic to learn anything.

She downed a dose of the Draught of Peace Madam Pomfrey had given her, which immediately eased her. But she was exhausted from running around with Hagrid, the ordeals three days before, her almost panic attack and from sleeping too long that she went to find her friends instead of going back to the spells.

"You've looked better."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks Fred, you really know how to make a girl feel special."

The boy grinned. "I was serious though, how are you?"

"In all honesty? Tired. I slept for two days."

He patted her head and she leaned against him. "Understandable. How are you room arrangements?" He was relieved to hear Pansy was assigned to another one. "Glad that's over with."

He could say that twice.

Henry let Fred steer her to their afternoon classroom, where George was currently doing… something she wasn't sure about. A quick explanation from Fred later, she groaned. Of course they were brewing experimental potions.

"It's not gonna blow, is it?" she asked suspiciously.

They laughed.

"It already has," said George, wagging his burned eyebrows. "Only scorched me a little, and I did turn blue for a few minutes, but I'm still alive!" He motioned for her to take a seat, which she did, to his right. Fred grinned before sitting down on her other side.

"We're trying our hands on the Alihotsy Draught," he explained.

"What's that?"

"Makes you laugh hysterically."

She wasn't sure how useful that was, except at boring parties maybe, but let them enjoy themselves. God, or rather Merlin, knew she needed a good laugh.

"Here, smell it," said George.

Reluctantly, she did. "Smells like cinnamon and vanilla," she murmured, before a low giggle escaped her lips. "What the heck?" Another, louder, giggle followed. "What did you _do_?" She pursed her lips tight together, because she felt the laughter trying to escape. For good measure, she covered them with her hands.

Fred and George were shaking from laughter themselves.

"Forgot to tell you you only need to inhale the fumes to start!" George tried to say, but laughed so much he had to repeat it three times.

The potion finished and Fred handed her a small vial of it. She rolled her eyes in annoyance, but hearing them laugh like that eased something in her chest, and she ended up drinking it. The hysterics began immediately. The three of them lay in a heap on the stone floor, laughing so much they cried. Henry gasped for breath, her stomach cramping, but it was fine. Everything was fine, and she had the Draught of Peace and Ali-what's-its-name to thank for it.

Fifteen minutes later, the effects faded and they lay panting instead, exhausted. She felt better, but even more tired than before, and wasn't sure if she had the strength to stay awake during dinner.

"We can take a detour to the kitchen later," said Fred, "if we can't get to the Hall, I mean."

"My stomach…" panted Henry, "is doing weird things." She whined a bit, which earned her a light pat on the stomach from George. "Not helping."

"Do you feel better now?" he asked.

"Much. Thank you both. Did you do it for me?"

They nodded.

"We figured you'd be pretty down after what happened," Fred explained. "Lee suggested this potion."

She had to thank the boy next time she saw him.

"I needed that. I needed a good laugh." She grinned at them both. "Thank you for being my friends."

"Of course!" Fred forced himself to sit up. "Now we have to clean this up, though." They let her help them with it.

"Oh, by the way, do you know the Confundo spell?" she asked off-handedly. "I tried learning it before Fred caught me."

"We do, why?" asked George.

"Care to help me?" Might be easier to concentrate if she had someone to force her back to reality when her thoughts drifted. If only she could stay awake.

"Now? You look ready to fall asleep were you sit."

"Tomorrow, then?"

They decided on tomorrow afternoon, during the afternoon class. She should probably start calling it the Saturday class though.

* * *

They covered the last of Charms first, before moving on to Transfiguration. Harry was an excellent teacher, and even Henry managed to turn her piece of stone into a needle. They didn't have matches, so they had to be creative.

Before he could move on to the next topic, turning a desk into a pig, Henry waved him over.

"Wow, really?" he asked and grinned. "Guys, we have special guest teachers here today." He bowed towards Fred and George. "Please shower us with your knowledge."

They snorted, but took his place at the front of the classroom. They went over the wand movement and incantation of Confundo, as well as the desired effect. Seeing how they had to train on each other, the twins carefully observed the results so no one got hurt.

Harry was paired with Draco. The Malfoy scion managed to Confundo Harry on his second try. Since he didn't know Protego yet, the spell hit him and he began to groan. Fred was there immediately to get him to lie down.

Blaise did the same to Theo, Parvati won over Patil and Neville would have broken his nose if George didn't catch him when he did. Henry walked over to her partner to see if he was all right. Confused, otherwise yes, he assured her.

Anthony Goldstein laughed at Terry Boot, who failed to sit on a chair and fell to the ground with a bang. Michael Corner rolled his eyes and cast the spell on Anthony in retaliation. The boy stumbled into a table. Hermione rolled her eyes at her partner.

Before the Ravens started a war, Fred and George ended their part of the lesson. Henry decided to end it all together since half of them were in no shape to continue, including Harry, today's official teacher.

"They look drunk," Draco chuckled. Harry grumbled and swatted at his arm. "Calm down and come here." The Slytherin boy let Harry lean against him.

"Everything's spinning." It was a wonder Henry managed to get down the stairs if _this_ was what happened to her. She had four heads!

"We'll take him back," Michael promised. He, Parvati and Hermione were taking the rest of the Ravens back to their common room. Neville stayed back to once again thank her for letting him come. He did so every lesson.

"That was fun," said George. "What can we do next time?"

"I don't know, teach us the spells from your last year," Henry grinned. "Now, I'm going to visit Hagrid."

"We'll come with you."

Hagrid did indeed have a flute, but he wouldn't say more about it, except he played for fun and for Fang.

"What was that about?" asked Fred when they were walking back to the castle. "You asked him about a _flute_?"

"Of all the things," George added with a shake of his head.

Henry paused. "You know what? The lake. I'm going to take a walk around the lake. Wanna join?" She wanted Sirius, to cuddle him and pretend life was perfect.

She ignored Fred and George frowning as she downed her Draught of Peace.

They headed for the lake, where the squid was currently floating on the surface, lazing around. The boys said something about poking it with a stick, but one glance from Henry had them saving it for another time.

Sirius joined them halfway through. He wagged his tail happily and ran out of the Forest with such force that, when Henry caught him, all air left her and she fell to the ground.

"What a happy… wolf?" Fred eyed George, who shrugged. "Is it yours?"

"Kinda," Henry said, giggling because Sirius was licking her face. "He's a dog though, not a wolf."

"That's one big dog. Looks a bit like the Grim."

"Isn't that a churchyard spirit?" If she remembered her lore correctly, the grim was the spirit of an animal buried in Christian churches, guarding it from evildoers. She wasn't sure, but the Grim was always buried first, because it was believed that the first one to be laid to rest in a new graveyard would haunt it forever.

The twins glanced at each other.

"I don't know about that," said Fred, "but the Grim—"

"Is an omen of death," continued George. "It usually takes the form of a large black dog…"

Henry scoffed. Sirius was no Church Grim, that was for sure. He was most definitely alive, and he wasn't a shapeshifter. Grims weren't just dogs, they could be any kind of animal as long as it was the first to be buried.

Then she remembered this was JK Rowling's world and promptly wanted to read up on that particular lore. Rowling was British, meaning her version of the Grim was heavily inspired by English legends, but at the same time, she was the goddess of this world, meaning that whatever laws Henry's past universe obeyed didn't necessarily apply to this one. Take magic for example.

"But you're not a Grim, are you, Sirius?" she said like she spoke to a child, and ruffled his ears. He barked in reply. "See? A normal dog."

The twins wanted to tell her a normal dog did _not_ follow its owner halfways across the country.

"Sure," said Fred.

"Whatever you say," sighed George.

"I knew you would understand!"

"Not really," they both deadpanned.

Henry laughed heartily. Fred and George in combination with the Draught of Peace were the perfect way to make her feel better. Her mood significantly brighter, she stood up, dusted herself off and had Sirius fetch a stick from the water. He didn't hesitate before he dove in. Fred and George took up both of her sides and waited for their turn to play with him.

Before they returned for dinner, they handed her a paper bag each, with candy.

"What?"

"It's from Honeydukes!" said George. "We promised to get you and Harry something, remember?"

She had honestly forgotten about it. Still, it touched her that they thought to buy them something. She definitely had to show this to Harry. He could have everything else if she got to keep the Chocolate Frogs. She loved those cards.

* * *

Vulnera Sanentur was officially ticked off the ever growing list of spells and things Henry and Harry had to learn, right before October 31st. They had Daycrusher bring them hurt animals from the Forest, which they tried it on, after making sure they got the pronunciation and wand movement down. Professor Flitwick had a few days before had to go over exactly why pronunciation was so important. If you were off even a bit, he said, you risked the spell either not work or do something completely different. Which was weird, since if intent was so important, why was the pronunciation so disastrous? As long as they focused on what they wanted to achieve, it shouldn't matter.

Either way, since it was a healing spell, they were adamant in getting it right. They didn't want to end up hurting (or possibly killing) the animals instead.

They said goodbye to Sirius, who was with them always to ensure they didn't in fact mess things up, as well as gave Daycrusher his promised rodent, before rushing off to the Great Hall. They were late, because they didn't want to leave until they learned the spell.

They entered through the entrance in the dungeons and rounded a corner. And came face to face will a big, ugly troll. The trio looked at each other in confusion for a moment, before Henry remembered exactly which day it was and the troll realised they were real. It swung its club towards them. Henry's magic kicked in like she was five again and protected them with a strong Protego.

"I-impedimenta!" cried Harry, successfully slowing the troll down. "Now go!" He pushed her back the way they came, but Henry threw him off her.

"Hermione!" she called and rushed to the toilets. What if it already got her? If Hermione died because Henry couldn't remember what day it was, she was going to freak.

The door opened with a bang, and Henry called out to her friend. A moment passed without Hermione showing up or calling back, in which Henry saw the bathroom was completely fine.

"You're _mad_ ," hissed Harry, having ran after her. "Oh Merlin, the troll! Get inside!" Not the smartest idea when you were being chased, but they had no other options. "Colloportus." He turned to Henry.

"She was supposed to be here," she mumbled to herself. If she wasn't, then where? Where was she? Gryffindor Tower? Already caught by the troll? Oh _Merlin_ , no.

"Snap out of it!" Harry roughly put his hands on her cheeks, basically slapping her. "Look at _me_ , not the bathroom, _me_." She did, and he gave a shaky smile. "Good, that's good Henry, focus on me. Now, is this canon?"

"Yes," she breathed.

"Good, and what happened in canon?" She muttered the event to him. "That's… also a way to do things, I guess."

They jumped at the sound of the troll breaking down the door.

"When it goes through, cast Locomotor Wibbly," said Harry. Barely had the words left his mouth before the door splintered and flew off its hinges. The troll leaned forward to get inside.

"Locomotor Wibbly!" cried the twins, and the troll collapsed into the wall.

"Petrificus Totalus," Harry added for good measure. Henry gave him a long look. "What? You always go on about learning useful spells!"

"Next time, please teach me as well," she deadpanned before they high tailed it out of there.

They didn't get far. The troll roared in rage, freeing itself from the Full Body-Bind Curse, and blocked them before they got out.

"Are they immune to magic?!" Harry screamed and threw himself at Henry. They fell to the floor, and the troll's club flew past where their heads had just been.

Trolls were rather dumb, so it _might_ not be a stretch to think they were too dumb to realise a spell had been cast on them. But magic didn't work that way, did it?

"Flipendo!" Henry said, watching as the troll flew backwards. "Glacies!"

It growled, unable to stand up on the patch of ice slowly covering the floor underneath it. In rage, the troll rolled towards its club, and stood, no off the ice.

"Where are the teachers?"

Henry didn't answer, she was busy erecting a Protego. Thank Merlin for her magic. The troll kept hammering away on it, and Harry couldn't cast another spell until she disabled the shield, which would ultimately kill them.

If the Protego didn't give in first, that was. It was shattering rapidly. Henry's magic was being consumed at an astonishing rate to keep the shield up, but it wasn't enough.

Think, what could they do? Ron distracted the troll in the book, leading to Harry sticking his wand up its nose and its club to land on its head. But she and Harry stood inside her Protego. They couldn't do that.

What if Harry cast Flipendo? She let the shield down, he cast it and they ran. That would work, except the troll would go through the wall or land in front of the door, trapping them inside. She needed a spell to knock it out. Flipendo simply had to do. Possibly in combination with Bombarda.

"Bombarda?" repeated Harry. "I know it."

"Good. On three, you cast it while I cast Flipendo. Hopefully it knocks the troll out." She took a deep breath. "One… two… three! Flipendo!"

"Bombarda!"

The troll was again knocked back, but as she feared, it got back up immediately. A knock on the head was all it took in the book, but this troll was harder to get rid off than cockroaches!

"Flipendo!" Harry watched the troll get up again. "I hate this place."

Henry hated her next idea even more.

The troll lifted the club up in the air, about to strike them. Henry had only one shot at this.

_Please don't die._

"Diffindo!" She threw herself and Harry to the ground. Several things slammed into the walls around them, spewing debris and dust around their bodies and into their lungs. Coughing, she sat up to survey the damage. The club was cut in four pieces, and the troll lay motionless on the ground.

"What in the _world_ ," came Professor McGonagall's shrill voice. "Hello? Anyone there?"

"Thank God," Harry breathed. "Professor!"

The four Head of Houses, as well as Professor Quirrell, came into view. Professor Flitwick swung his wand and the dust disappeared.

"By all mages," breathed Professor Sprout. "I'll call for Madam Pomfrey."

Professor Flitwick and McGonagall set to inspect the twins with basic diagnostic spells in the meantime. Snape went to check on the troll, limping like he was supposed to, and Quirrell stared at the damage.

"Never a peaceful moment with you two," muttered Snape. "What, if I may ask, compelled you to take on a fully grown troll by yourselves?"

They stared at him, incredulous he was suggesting they had willingly done so.

"I'm not answering that," said Harry and lay down again. "That's the stupidest question I've heard this year."

"Five points, Mr Potter."

"Professor Snape!" barked Flitwick. "Not now."

They helped the twins to their feet. Quirrell, in shock, sat down on a ruined toilet. As they passed him, the twins cried out in pain. Their scars were burning brighter than the night they got them.

"Mr and Miss Potter, what's wrong?"

"My _scar_ ," Henry screamed before fainting. She caught Quirrell's satisfied smirk before she hit the floor.

Sick bastard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you SO MUCH to everyone that's reading this! Both the silent and reviewing ones. I'm so happy you leave kudos and bookmark and subscribe to the story. It brightens my day to see people actually enjoying it.
> 
> I'd like to think many of us, when faced with Henry's situation (reincarnated without memories of what happened etc), would also freak the f out every once in a while, and try their hardest to survive Voldemort, Hogwarts and the Wizarding War.
> 
> And honestly, if I was reincarnated into Harry Potter's world, I'd also move to the library and hoard all the books. Like come on, it's magic! Of course both Harry and Henry are learning everything they can.
> 
> Some of you might be worried about Henry's anxiety/panic/depression. Don't be. It serves as a stepping-stone for character development. I'm not about to write like 7 books of her panicing over every single thing. I want her to become strong, both mentally and magically speaking. So please bear with it for now!


	11. The Philosopher's Stone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally getting there! It took me forever to write this chapter. January 2021 has NOT been a good month for me. I want a refund. I hope most of you has fared better than me.

_** Warning: ** _ **Mentions of addiction to medicine, and suicide/suicidal thoughts (no, no one's thinking of ending their lives and no one has done so in the fic. There is only a** ** brief discussion ** **about it). I promise it's not as bad as it sounds!**

The good news was that Harry and Henry didn't lose their Houses any points. Snape had taken fifty from both of them, but Professor Flitwick and McGonagall rewarded them back those points, for their dealing with the troll.

Draco and Theo were the ones that relayed the news. The twins had woken up in the Hospital Wing (Henry had not missed the place) with one massive headache each. Madam Pomfrey gave them something for it before the boys arrived.

"You missed the Occlumency lesson though," said Draco.

"It's so mean of you not to invite me." Theo pouted before handing them a caramel candy each. "Got it from a fourth-year. They wish you a good recovery."

From there on out, people jokingly called them the Troll Slayers, despite the troll not dying. It was highly embarrassing for both of them, and Henry's hair and eyes turned pink every time someone mentioned it.

School continued. As did their Saturday classes and Sunday Occlumency lessons. Luciana was proud with their improvements, all of them now had relatively good protection. She could still get inside, but at least she was met with resistance.

Getting out of their landscapes was harder. So far, only Draco managed it, and by complete accident too. He couldn't replicate the feeling, but seeing as he did it without Luciana, they knew it was possible.

The snow came in mid November, and with it, the freezing cold. Children ran outside at every opportunity to have snowball fights. Harry was happy to participate while Henry sat to the side, enjoying the commotion. During the first fight, a stray snowball hit her in the face. The snow slid underneath her clothes and she joined the fight to get the heat back up. Which in the end served to make her sweaty but still cold, since she took more snow to the face. Afterward, she let her magic protect her with Protego.

Speaking of which, her magic was weird. Even after getting a better understanding of it and how to control it, it still risked running rampant. Harry suggested it was because of her instincts. That begged the question why _his_ never went berserk.

"I have better control?" The smug smirk earned him a mouthful of snow to the face. "Merlin! Don't do that." He shuddered, freezing. "That's so mean. I'm your only brother!"

"He says right after offending his only sister," she laughed.

It was Friday afternoon, the third week of November, that Draco dropped a notebook in her lap. They were in the library, most of them finishing homework.

Curious, Henry opened it and raised her eyebrows.

"Now I know why it took you half an eternity," she joked. "Wow Draco, this is amazing. Where did you find all this?" The notebook was filled with information about Metamorphmagi.

"I have contacts," was his reply before sitting down. "That, and I read just about every book I could find about the subject." Which wasn't much, he had come to realise. Hogwarts didn't have a lot of books about them. "You're welcome, by the way."

She gave him a small hug. "Thanks Draco. This… I can't express how happy I am." Learning more about her ability wasn't high up on her priority list. It wasn't like it was a problem, and protecting herself against Voldemort was more important than getting her hair to stop changing colour. But now she could read this whenever she had the chance.

After finishing her homework, she excused herself. She went to see Sirius down at the Black Lake, and he was happy to see her. For a while now, she developed the habit of coming down here alone to talk to him. Mostly it was about school, keeping him up to date on what they were learning. Sometimes she mentioned how she felt, which always resulted in her getting sad (and taking some Draught of Peace) and him trying to cheer her up.

If only he could reveal himself to them, maybe take them to live with him, then everything would feel much better. But then again, he is still wanted for their parents' murder…

"They went here, you know," she said quietly, taking a seat on a fallen tree. Sirius put his head in her lap to pat. "My parents, I mean. I walked past the trophy room once, and there dad was, on a picture for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He was their Seeker." She looked at Sirius and then at the lake.

She had always had a weird relationship with them. They were dead and fictional characters come to life, but somewhere deep down she knew they weren't her actual parents. It was a stupid thought, but she still had memories of her life before this. She couldn't remember who she used to be, or who her family had been, but she had had parents then too, parents she couldn't disregard because she didn't remember them.

 _Then Harry can't be your brother,_ a treacherous voice whispered.

But he was, which was why she felt bad about it. He was her brother, she saw him as her family. The difference between him and James and Lily was that he was still alive, he wasn't JK Rowling's fictional hero anymore, but a living, breathing person. James and Lily were still characters, people she had never interacted with. Her brief conversation with the woman didn't count.

If she had remembered them from that one year they were together, would her thoughts be different? Would she have missed them? Did she miss them? She didn't know. She missed the idea of parents, but that didn't translate to missing Lily and James, people she didn't know. They were practically strangers.

Not even Harry missed them.

"Parents?" he had asked the one time she brought it up. "Well, having them would be nice, don't you think? People that care, that love you and don't hit you over the head with a frying pan…"

"Be serious, Harry."

"I am. I don't particularly care though, as long as I have you."

She hadn't had the heart to bring it up again.

Again, she thought of the picture of James. He had looked proud in it, grinning from ear to ear, holding the Quidditch trophy high in the air. Had things gone according to the book, Harry had been a Seeker by now. But though he loved flying and Quidditch, he shrugged at the idea of trying for the team.

"First-years aren't even allowed to participate," he reminded her once. "And if I join, I won't have as much time to help you study."

Sirius licked her fingers, bringing her back to reality.

"I wonder if they would have liked me," she said. She was genuinely curious. They might think her odd because of her "prophetic" visions, or they might not have cared. If they had been alive, she could have told them the truth, knowing they loved and supported her. Or they would have shunned her for not being _their_ daughter.

Sirius barked and pressed his head against her stomach.

"Sorry." She swallowed a dose of the Draught of Peace. She sighed in relief. "I feel much better now." He looked at her, and she got the feeling he was concerned. "Don't worry, it's for panic attacks. I haven't completely settled in yet."

They left the tree and kept walking, so they wouldn't freeze to death. Winter was coming, and Henry hoped Sirius had somewhere to live in the meantime.

* * *

Days bled into each other. Harry and Henry fell into their daily routine again, eating together, studying together and taking walks together. Their Sunday lessons with Luciana were moved to Tuesdays as well, and they even invited Theo and Hermione. Fred and George found them once, and decided to join as well.

The first day of December, the children were informed that those wishing to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas had to write their names on the board outside the Great Hall. Harry didn't even ask Henry before signing them up, as per their plan.

"What's your favourite colour?" asked George, who followed him.

"Mine? I guess… I guess it's blue?"

"What about Henry?"

Either it was light blue or green, she could never decide.

"Alright, blue for you and green for her, then," the boy said with a secretive smile. Harry wanted to ask what he was up to, but knew he wouldn't get a straight answer. If it hadn't involved him personally, Fred and George would have already asked for his help.

"Thanks for the candy, by the way," he said instead, remembering the bag Henry had shown him. "It was delicious."

"Happy you like it." George ruffled his hair.

"Like it wasn't bad enough before," sighed Harry. "Why do you insist on making it worse?"

"Because it's fun and you like it."

"Who says I do?"

George grinned from ear to ear. "Well, if you didn't, you'd go awfully quiet like when Lee did it, and Henry would come to your rescue."

Harry grimaced. It was true.

"Whatever, just don't do it too often. My hair already looks like a crow's nest."

"I'll go find Henry instead, then."

Harry stifled a giggle and followed him back inside. Henry gave his waist a hug before cursing at George's hand in her hair.

That afternoon, she met up with Luciana privately to keep working on Musica Aeternam. Luciana had given her some valuable information during their meetings, which was that spells only worked as long as you kept supplementing them with magic. That meant Henry had to keep at least some level of focus on the spell, even if she left it to play in another room.

"You said you unknowingly used Protego, right?" Luciana said when they first spoke about it.

"Yeah."

"Uh-huh. The thing is, your magic kept pouring into it, because without magic, spells don't work. It's the same with lamps. They work as long as the switch is on." It was something obvious, yet something Henry hadn't really thought about.

"Seems logical," she replied. "Musica Aeternam!" Her magic shot through the wand into the transfigured flute. It began to play softly. "Marvelous! Now, how do I turn it off?"

"Musica Averte." Luciana smiled kindly as she taught Henry the counterspell. "It's been a pleasure to teach you, Miss Potter."

"And I'm grateful for it." She cast the counterspell on the flute. It kept playing. "Drat." She kept at it until the music finally stopped. "Seriously, I appreciate you teaching me this, as well as Occlumency. Thank you."

Luciana's smile grew. "It makes perfect practice for me as well. And as a fellow Slytherin, it is my duty to help you protect yourself." She looked at the books surrounding them. "You are very bright, Miss Potter, and I'd hate to see your potential hampered by negative emotions and despicable people. So if you ever have trouble again, I suggest you seek out your friends. Or me, if you don't want them to know."

"Aren't we friends as well?" asked Henry.

Luciana's eyes widened a fraction. "I did not dare to assume anything, but it would be an honour."

Henry grinned. "Then, if we're friends, you can talk casually with me."

"I will try."

They prepared to leave the library, but Luciana paused and looked at her. "About those feelings you are… you're fighting, Miss Potter."

"Huh? What about them?"

Luciana wasn't smiling anymore. She looked concerned. "I really do suggest you talk to someone, be it me, Mr Potter or even Professor Snape. It does not do anyone any good to become addicted to medicine."

"I'm not…"

"I wasn't suggesting you were, however it seems to be a common consequence. I do not want it to happen to you too."

Henry contemplated her words for a moment. Was she becoming addicted to the Draughts? "I'll be careful," she agreed. "Thank you Miss Roserage, for looking out for me. Can I call you Luciana?"

"Only if I can call you Henrietta."

"How about Henry?"

Luciana bowed her head slightly. "Very well, Henry." She gave an almost cocky grin. "See you later."

Henry left for the Room of Requirements. Luciana's words still rang in her mind. Was she really addicted to the Draught of Peace? If so, how was she to stop it? She had never been addicted to something before (except sugar).

"Hey!" someone called from behind her. She turned to frown at Ron Weasley. His determined and somewhat upset expression made her think of trouble.

"What?" she asked rather rudely.

"You, you're really Henrietta Potter?"

She stared at him. "What? What do you mean by that? Of course I am!"

"But you're in Slytherin."

"And you're in Gryffindor, glad we sorted that out. Now, excuse me." She turned to leave, but Ron moved in front of her. "You've got a bone to pick because I was sorted into Slytherin?"

"Yes, or well, no… I don't know!"

"How can you not know? Why did you call out to me, then?"

"Because… because you're suspicious!" he replied, looking at her defiantly. Henry groaned and rubbed her forehead. She had no energy to spare right now, and didn't want to deal with Ron's prejudice against Houses. So what if she was in Slytherin? She wasn't evil, nor were most of the students in it. They just kept to themselves because the rest of the student body didn't like their House.

She remembered Pansy and grimaced. Of course there were bullies, Draco had been one in the books, but that didn't mean all of them were.

"And how am I suspicious?"

"Your hair changes colour every five minutes, you bewitched my brothers, you're sucking up to Malfoy and his goons, and—" Henry's laugh startled him.

"Theo and Pansy may be his goons, but Blaise isn't, and I'm sure as hell not his groupie," she sneered. "Honestly, Ronald, you have no tact. It wasn't long ago I had a fight with Pansy and I'm not having such a great time, having fought a troll, remember that? So please wait with your accusations at least until after Christmas, so I get a chance to _breathe_ and actually enjoy going to school." He stared at her, at a loss for words. " _Well_?"

"You're in Slytherin!" he echoed. "Only bad guys go there."

Henry wanted to face palm. It was like talking to a wall.

 _Where did JK Rowling's Ron Weasley go?_ Henry mourned. _I'd rather talk to him._ Or maybe this _was_ her Ron, but the situation had changed, and she wasn't like he'd expected. Like she cared; her goal in life wasn't to fulfill anyone else's expectations.

"You know what? I don't have to talk to you." She turned around and jogged off. Ron called out to her, but she tuned him out. She reached the Room of Requirements, but waited a few minutes to see if Ron or anyone else followed her. No one showed up and she walked past the wall three times, then hid inside.

"Why does _everyone_ come after me?" she grumbled. She wasn't safe within her own House, let alone outside. Hogwarts wasn't as fun as she had hoped.

 _No! Happy thoughts._ Yes, happy thoughts made the bad feelings go away. What made her happy? The fact she had friends, especially Draco and Harry. And Sirius was here, and visiting him never failed to brighten her mood. Seeing Hagrid and helping him with the animals always put a smile on her face too. And learning things! Spells and magic were fun.

Her anxieties temporarily dissipated. To ensure they stayed away, she drank a dose of the Draught of Peace. She looked at the vial. Was she addicted? No, she needed the potions to function, like antidepressants. But she figured she _was_ using them unnecessarily, taking them too often. She promised to only take them during emergencies, when she felt especially down.

* * *

At the end of the last week before Christmas, Henry was ready to hex Ron to oblivion. Every class they had, every time they met in the corridors, during every meal, he was there, glaring holes in the back of her head. He didn't try to talk to her again, which suited her just fine, but his constant staring was almost as bad.

"Are you _sure_ they don't do anything Dark?" she had heard him as Neville once. Poor boy had been paler than the ghosts, shaking his head and promising nothing illegal was going on with whatever they were discussing.

Fred and George caught her after school one day, asking if she had had a fight with him, because Ron was constantly telling them to stay away from her, that she was evil and dangerous.

"He just doesn't trust me because I'm in Slytherin," she had growled in reply. "Merlin, grow a backbone and confront me." That last part was meant for Ron.

Fred patted her hair. "We can talk to him, if you'd like?"

"No, he won't listen to you." He already thought the worst of her, so he'd only accuse her of brainwashing them. "Ugh, I don't have the energy to deal with this. Maybe I should send Harry and let him deal with it."

The twins looked genuinely concerned at that.

"We'd like to keep our brother," said Fred.

"Yeah. He might be a jerk to you, but he's still our little brother," added George.

"So please don't send Harry," they both said.

Henry giggled. "Fine, I'll do something myself then. Someday. Right now, I have to focus on school. And speaking of nothing, is there anything you want for Christmas?"

"You don't need to," insisted George.

"Yeah, save your money."

She gave them a long look. "Says the guys that have probably already prepared both me and Harry presents. Now, tell me."

They looked at each other.

"Anything from Zonko's, really," George said finally.

"Things we can experiment with, you know," said Fred.

"If you really want to give us something, that is," they said in unison.

"You know how eerie that is?"

They grinned.

"Of course," George said with a laugh.

"Why do you think we do it?"

"You're impossible!" But she was laughing with them. If only Ron was this easy to talk to.

* * *

"What do you mean we can't do it until after Christmas?" Harry asked. He was sitting on a conjured sofa, piercing Henry with accusatory eyes. "We had a plan!"

"That was before I remembered the gift," she replied.

"What gift?"

"The Invisibility Cloak."

Harry rolled his eyes in exasperation. Of course there were artifacts that turned you invisible. It was _magic_.

"You really need to tell me these things," he sighed and dragged his hand through his already messy hair. "It's annoying."

"Sorry… but I really didn't remember until just now!"

He gave up, because this was how Henry had always been, and together they decided to wait two days, until Friday, to steal the Stone. It wasn't exactly comfortable waiting so long, but on the other hand, Henry mentioned something about the magical mirror not being ready—again, she had to tell him about this! Didn't she have a journal?

"Give me that," he muttered and scanned through the part titled _FIRST YEAR EVENTS_. "A dragon?" He looked at her in disbelief. "Are we, like, doing something about that?" In the notes, it said "Ron" contacted his brother Charlie, a dragon tamer, so his friends could take it away. Harry didn't know Ron Weasley very much, and he didn't like what little he'd seen. He still remembered right before the Sorting, and had noticed him glare at Henry. People should leave her alone!

"I… I haven't thought of that yet. I don't think Hagrid trusts us enough to divulge such information."

"Ah, true." Harry wasn't overly fond of the half-giant, though he found him endearing. He'd rather read in the library than run around on adventures. That was Henry's thing. But he also knew Hagrid held a special place in her heart, something akin to childhood nostalgia, and figured she'd take him with her anyway.

"We'll come back to that," said Henry and took the journal. "I'm more worried about what will happen after we take the Stone. "

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean, is that book!Harry didn't take it until much later in the year. I don't know what will happen after this."

Harry thought about it for a moment. "We'll have peace and quiet?" he then suggested. If they didn't have to worry about the Stone, it meant they could focus on their studies and friends. He hoped it would help with Henry's depressing mood too, so that one day she didn't need the Draught of Peace.

Henry snorted. "Dear brother, knowing the books like I do, I can assure you we won't ever have that."

Figures. But it was worth a try.

* * *

December 25th rolled around, and the twins found themselves in a very empty castle. Draco, Blaise and Theo, as well as Millicent and Daphne, had all left for home the Friday before. As had Luciana, Hermione and most of Harry's Ravenclaw friends. Only Fred and George stayed, because their parents were visiting their oldest brother over the holidays. That meant Ron Weasley was probably still in Hogwarts too.

Henry woke up to an empty room. It collapsed in on itself, and she fled to the bathroom to hide and calm down. And drink some Draught of Peace.

 _This is fine,_ she told herself. _It's fine because I would have screamed otherwise._ She was starting to feel guilty every time she used either the Sleeping Draught or the Draught of Peace, but there was no other way for her to fall asleep at night or to calm down from her rising panic and anxiety.

She showered and dressed in a faded yellow t-shirt and light blue jeans, before making her way to the Great Hall. A few other Slytherins joined her, Adam Beakley and Finlei Choi being two of them. She greeted them and thanked them for standing up for her.

"You're much more pleasant than Pansy Parkinson," Adam replied. "It would be sad to see you go."

"We also owed you for helping us that Potions lesson," remarked Finlei. "It was the least we could do."

They broke away after entering the Hall. Harry was already eating breakfast with Fred and George, wearing a light blue knitted jumper. She paused and took in the letters HA on his chest. Was that what she thought it was?

"Henry!" he called, waving her over. "Did you sleep— Hey, where's your jumper?"

"Jumper?" she asked dumbly and sat down. "Where did you get that?"

"It was by the foot of my bed. As was _this_." He showed her the newly released edition of _Transfiguration for Dummies_.

"I think that's supposed to be mine," she giggled.

"We can swap later. And I can't believe you missed the presents."

She felt her cheeks heat up and buried herself in her food. It was delicious, and the house-elves deserved some recognition. Fred and George expressed their heartbroken sorrow over not seeing Henry in her new jumper, though they didn't look at all sorrowful. They _did_ look a bit funny however. Like Harry, they wore knitted jumpers, but theirs were dark blue with a yellow F and G.

"Who made these?" she asked.

"Mum," replied Fred.

"Aren't they cute? She makes them every year," George laughed.

"She heard from our letters that you wouldn't receive that many presents, so she made them for you." Fred grinned.

Though she had expected it to be Mrs Weasley, she still found herself touched by the gesture. Since they hadn't befriended Ron, she had thought she wouldn't make anything for them.

Harry smiled softly at Henry's excitement. It was unusual to see her this happy, and he wished he could snap a photo and immortalise it.

She quickly finished breakfast and dragged the others with her back to the common room. After making the twins swear they would never let anyone know she let them in, and to never use this knowledge in their pranks, she showed them the entrance and rushed upstairs. People of the opposite gender weren't allowed in each other's dorm rooms, so Fred, George and Harry stood in the doorway, laughing at how Henry missed the gifts in front of the bed.

Her jumper was green, with the letters HE in silver on the chest. She threw it over her t-shirt and showed it to the boys, a huge grin on her face.

"It's _gorgeous_!" she shrieked, throwing herself at the twins. She gave them a hard hug, and they lifted her up from the ground, being way taller than her. "I have to thank your mum! Harry, we need to write letters."

"Calm down," he laughed and hugged her as well. "Here's my present to you." He handed her a lumpy package. She opened it and grinned again. There were lots of Chocolate Frogs in it.

"Wait, I have yours somewhere too," she said, handed the gift back and went to check her chest. Then she handed him something that was obviously a book.

Curious, he handed the candy to Fred and opened the present. Inside _was_ a book, _One Thousand Ways to Transfigure_ by Gwendolyn Gerard.

"I love it. I love you," he declared and hugged it to his chest. He had been eyeing the book in Diagon Alley. He couldn't believe she had noticed _and_ remembered. "I love you!"

Fred and George laughed.

"Since nothing can obviously top your presents, we'll just keep ours," said George.

"Yeah, who needs to buy their friends anything when we can keep it ourselves?" chuckled Fred.

"Meanie!" exclaimed Harry and Henry.

Fred and George had bought them scarfs, blue for Harry and green for Henry. They took one look at them, tried them on and then switched.

"What? I can't wear all green," said Henry when Fred and George raised an eyebrow.

"We do this sometimes," Harry explained. "Sometimes we use each other's clothes. It's… it's especially nice now, when we don't see much of each other." He held up the green scarf to look at. "Now it feels like I'm walking around with a piece of Henry."

Fred snorted. "If you weren't siblings, that would sound really creepy."

"Oh, shut it."

Fred ruffled Harry's hair, and the boy sighed.

The next present, probably from Sirius, was a book about Charms. After a quick discussion, Henry took _Transfiguration for Dummies_ and Harry _Charms for Everyday Occasions_. Hermione had gifted Henry even more Chocolate Frogs, and apologised in a letter for not being more creative. Blaise's present was a thin silver bracelet, and Draco's _The Adventures of Merlin, Volume I_. Luciana had bought her diadems in different colours. She was surprised the girl had given her anything at all, and reminded herself to buy her something too.

They spent the rest of the day with Fred and George, roaming the castle, having a snowball fight and visiting Sirius. He wagged his tail as soon as he saw them, and got even happier (if possible) after hearing about the presents they received and how happy it made them.

Then Fred suggested they go ice skating. Harry was all for trying, but Henry reluctantly stood back while Fred enchanted their shoes. George walked up to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Scared?" he asked with a challenging smirk.

"I'm not very good at it," she mumbled. "I've never skated before."

"Then we'll teach you!" He took her hands and dragged her to the bank, where Fred enchanted her shoes to grow ice as well.

"Merlin!" she screamed and slipped. Harry caught her, which sent them both careening across the ice on their behinds.

Fred and George laughed so much they nearly fell too. But they did keep their promise, and Fred took Harry's hands and George Henry's, helped them to their feet and began instructing them how to properly stand, move and stop. Harry got the hang of it almost immediately, but it was harder for Henry, and she ended up with aching feet and wrists instead. Still, she could move now, and with George's help, skated across the ice with Sirius running after them.

After what felt like hours, they returned to the bank, undid the enchantments, said goodbye to Sirius and headed up to the castle for lunch. They met Ron and Neville outside the Great Hall. Neville, the sweet boy, happily wished them all a merry Christmas before heading inside. Ron frowned at her, then at his brothers. It looked like he wanted to say something, but Fred and George's warning expressions stopped him.

"Merry Christmas…" he forced himself to say before heading after Neville.

"I honestly don't know what problem he has with you," said Fred, frowning. "I mean, yeah you're a Slytherin, but you're not a bully or a Pureblood. If he just took a moment to _listen_ , he'd understand."

Henry really didn't want to go over this again. Ron only saw what he wanted to see, and didn't think he could be wrong. That wasn't about to change anytime soon, she feared.

"I might prank him," said Harry. "Would that be okay?"

"Harry—" Henry began, but George interrupted her.

"Fine by me. Just don't scare him to death or dismember him. We like him whole."

"Yeah," said Fred. "It's not as fun to prank him if he's broken."

Henry stared at the three of them, terrified. She hoped to God they were joking.

They went inside and sat down at the Gryffindor table, not too far away from Ron and Neville. The latter smiled again and waved, to which everyone waved back. Then the food appeared out of thin air, and they were too busy eating to do much else.

"By the way," said Fred and looked at his twin, "did they ever catch those thieves?"

"Not that I remember, why?"

Fred shrugged and glanced at Henry. What he said next, he whispered. "Don't you think it's weird that Gringotts gets robbed, and then Dumbledore has a Hellhound guard something on the third floor?" He looked Henry square in the eye. "Don't you agree?"

She could barely swallow her food. "It could be a coincidence."

Fred grinned. "I _knew_ you'd know! Ha! Hand me the money."

George grumbled and gave him a knuckle. At least Henry thought it was, she couldn't really see. And still hadn't learned the difference.

"You were betting on that?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah. You look like you know more than you let on, and this was my way to prove I was right."

George looked at her and Harry. "You're not in trouble, are you?"

The first-years looked at each other, uneasy.

"Let's talk about that somewhere else," Harry murmured. He didn't want neither students nor teachers to hear this.

The Weasley twins frowned, now worried, but agreed. As soon as they finished their lunch, they walked to one of the secret passages. Fred cast Silencio.

"Right then." He looked at the twins. "What's going on?"

Harry glanced at Henry, wondering how she was getting them out of this.

"We figured out the Hellhound is guarding something, too," she said slowly. "And…" They waited for her to find her words. "Oh, whatever! We're going to steal whatever's in there."

No one said a word. Then.

" _What_?!"

"Are you _mad_?"

"Henry! Why did you say that!"

Henry winced and looked at the ground. She hadn't planned for the twins to figure anything out, and hadn't had time to come up with a solid excuse. She had panicked, but she could save this! She thought.

"Maybe you should let me finish?" She looked at them one on one. They quieted down. "Thank you. Now, it's like this: Just like you, Harry and I figured out the Hellhound was there for a reason…" She quickly spun a tale about figuring out it was the Philosopher's Stone, and that someone was about to steal it. She mentioned their scars burning after defeating the troll, planting the idea of Voldemort not being completely dead in Fred and George's minds. It terrified them, of course, but they weren't inclined to fully believe them. Henry understood, since Voldemort was more of a boogeyman to them.

"You got yourself in some deep trouble, you know that, right?" said Fred.

"Is there anything you need help with?" asked George.

"No, we should be fine, but thanks." Henry gave them a disarming smile. They didn't buy it for a second.

"What are you going to do with it?" asked Fred. "I mean… it's the Philosopher's Stone."

The twins looked at each other and shrugged. Henry planned on keeping it, since it was one of the three Deathly Hallows, but she wasn't about to tell _them_ that.

"We haven't thought that much about it," said Harry finally. "We just don't want Voldemort—" The twins cringed "—to get his hands on it." He pointed at Henry's scars. "We've seen enough of him, thank you very much."  
"Yeah. I don't want to end up a martyr," Henry added.

"Alright, since you won't let us help with the actual stealing," said George.

"We just have to help prepare you," continued Fred.

"Lesson time!" they chanted.

For the rest of the day, and the day after, Fred and George taught Harry and Henry spells they thought necessary for dangerous adventures. Henry had forgotten Expelliarmus was a second-year spell. She was grateful for Immobulus, Finite (or Finite Incantatem) and Arresto Momentum (again, that was a second-year spell?). Even if they might not use them this time, they were useful spells that would come in handy later.

* * *

As in the book, Harry had gotten the Invisibility Cloak, with the same mysterious letter. They used it both on the night of December 25th and 26th, but didn't find Erised. It wasn't a total loss; they already knew how it worked, but Henry had wanted to prepare them for the inevitable shock of seeing their innermost desires.

That Friday night, Harry met Henry outside her common room, the Invisibility Cloak thrown over his head. Together they snuck off to the third floor, where Fluffy was sleeping. Henry cast Musica Aeternam on the transfigured flute they'd brought (Hagrid hadn't given them a Christmas present, to Henry's big surprise) in case Fluffy woke up while they searched for the trap door.

It was right behind the Hellhound, and they opened it as quietly as possible. It was pitch black inside, and Harry initially refused to jump down.

"What if there's a stone floor?" he whispered. "We'll break our legs!"

"No, the Devil's Snare is there," she reminded him and jumped. Harry nearly screamed her name in surprise. He gathered the cloak, took a deep breath and jumped as well. And landed on something soft yet firm.

"Are dead yet?" he asked as something snaked around his throat. "Oh Lord!"

"Lumos!"

The Snare let them go and Henry quickly crawled to safety. Harry saw her and followed, nearly dropping the cloak.

"This was much funnier in the book," Henry said with a shaky smile.

"Pray tell," huffed Harry and followed her into another corridor.

"Well, Hermione manages to get to safety, but can't figure out how to get fire without wood," Henry explained, holding her still glowing wand in front of them. "So Ron shouts 'Are you a witch or not?' or something similar."

"Of course you remember _that_ after a decade," Harry deadpanned. Henry blew him a raspberry.

The farther they walked, the louder the sudden buzzing sound got. Harry moved closer to Henry, ready to punch whatever made it if it came too close.

They entered another room, with a door on the other side. A broom rested against one of the walls, and up above flew a myriad of keys.

"I'll take the broom," said Harry, handing the cloak to Henry.

"I'll make it easier for you to get the key. Immobulus!" The keys stopped dead in their tracks. "Huh, didn't expect that to actually work."

"Good choice." Harry mounted the broom and looked for the key Henry had explained should have a broken wing. He got it and calmly landed. He unlocked the door and they went to find the next trial.

The next chamber was massive compared to the other three. It was also filled with huge, broken chess pieces, a giant chessboard and several not-as-broken pieces, though some were missing.

"Nope, I'm not doing that," Harry stated, mounted the broom and looked at Henry. "Well?"

She carefully moved behind him, nearly squeezing the dinner out of him. Note to self: Never fly with Henry.

The trial didn't activate, and they calmly landed on the other side. They were surprised and disappointed it was this easy to circumvent everything, but then again, wizards had no common sense, since they lived with magic.

 _Which is why they should have thought of someone flying over the damned thing,_ thought Harry.

The next chamber was pitch black. Harry lit it up with a quick Lumos, and let out a scream. A mountain troll turned to look at them, blinking its tiny eyes slowly.

"I _hate_ trolls!" the boy exclaimed. After this, he never wanted to see another one. "Confundo!"

"Locomotor Wibbly, Impedimenta!"

"Immobulus!"

The troll didn't stand a chance, and they quickly went through the door it was guarding. In the middle stood a dark wood table, with seven unlabeled potions on it. Harry jerked violently when the doorway behind them burst into purple flames. on the other side of the room, Henry saw the exit was blocked by black flames.

"I think Snape's got it out for us," Harry muttered.

"Nah, he's just making sure no one that shouldn't be here can leave."

Harry gave her a long look. "Like _us_?"

Henry grinned in response and walked up to the table. She picked up a piece of paper, and on it was a riddle. Harry read it over her shoulder and laughed.

"I'll take this, thank you very much," he said, and Henry handed the paper to him. "Alright… Let's see…"

_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,_

_Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,_

_One among us seven will let you move ahead,_

_Another will transport the drinker back instead,_

_Two among our number hold only nettle wine,_

_Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line._

_Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore,_

_To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:_

_First, however slyly the poison tries to hide_

_You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;_

_Second, different are those who stand at either end,_

_But if you would move onwards, neither is your friend;_

_Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,_

_Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;_

_Fourth, the second left and the second on the right_

_Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

Henry groaned. She couldn't make any sense of the clues. "Please tell me you can figure it out," she said to Harry.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not stupid."

"Hey!"

He laughed. "Now hush, I need to think." He read through the riddle a few more times, mumbling things like the second and sixth being wine and the first and fifth having to be the poisons.

While he figured everything out, Henry walked around the room. She kept far away from the flames, not wanting to figure out what kinds they were. After examining the walls, she came back with nothing. Harry looked up at her proudly.

"Well?" she asked.

"Alright, so the giant bottle and this bottle, they're twins and not poisons, so they have to be the wine," Harry immediately began explaining. "These two, number one and five, have to be the poisons in that case. So please don't drink them."

"Harry, I'm not suicidal!" How could he even think that?

"I know, but when you work yourself into a frenzy, anything can happen. So please don't touch these." He paused. "And if you ever feel down, like you… you know… want to… want to end it… please talk to me first."

"Oh Harry." She gave him a hug. "I'm not leaving you, for whatever reason. I love you too much for that."

He nodded. "Thanks. And I love you too." He shook off the depression and pointed at the seventh bottle. "This will send us back through the purple flames. So, out of the two left, the dwarf bottle will get us through the black fire, because the riddle said that it doesn't contain poison. The last one, the fourth, is the last poison."

Henry shook her head in disbelief. "I feel stupid," was her only comment.

Harry laughed at that and took the dwarf bottle. "Don't be, not everyone's a genius like me." She made a gagging sound. "Hey, meanie."

"I'm not feeding into that big ego of yours," she said with a laugh. Harry opened the bottle, drank half and handed it to her. "I hope it tastes good." She took a deep breath and downed it. And nearly spat it out. "Oh God!"

"Yeah, not exactly pumpkin juice."

She made a disgusted face. "You _drink_ that? I just ask for water."

"Wait, you can do that?"

She grinned and dragged him through the flames. The next room was much bigger, almost the size of the big chessboard, with stone steps leading down to an old mirror. Harry took one look and muttered something about drama queens, while Henry went through both déjà vú and nostalgia in one fell swoop. She shuddered.

Harry noticed this and took her hand before descending the stairs. Magical torches lit up without help as they did.

The frame was faded, with the actual mirror looking like it'd been through a lifetime of hardships. At first when they stopped in front of it, they saw only themselves. Then Henry gasped. From her point of view, Harry faded away, and two handfuls of people appeared behind her. They looked unfamiliar, but the ache in Henry's heart suggested she should know who they were.

A slightly older girl, with light brown, shoulder-length hair, walked up to her and hugged her from behind. Henry felt nothing, and couldn't see the hands around her waist when she looked down. But the girl, a cousin, a friend or even a sister, was unmistakably holding her, smiling lovingly.

_Drowning._

A blonde woman, at least thirty years older, put a hand on Henry's head. Her smile was sad, longing.

_Mum?_

She had no time to think about it, because a man the same age as the woman took her hand and looked at Henry with so much love it burned. These people were from her past life. They knew her. Why didn't she know them?

She looked at Harry for guidance, but stopped short. He was pale, and whatever he saw in the mirror terrified him.

"Harry?" She clenched his hand. "What do you see?"

"N… nothing. Nothing… at all. I'm f-fine," he forced himself to say, and ripped his eyes from the mirror. "That thing is cursed. I… I can't look at it again."

Henry frowned. What had he seen? His desire couldn't be bad, could it? It was Harry, after all.

"You have to, otherwise we won't get the Stone."

He looked like he'd rather face a troll without a wand. But he sighed in defeat and eyed the mirror again. And just stood there, going paler and paler until he ripped his hand from hers and turned his back to the mirror.

"I can't," he said between deep, almost hyperventilated breaths. "It won't come to me; I don't want it."

She was momentarily lost. They only had this one chance to get it. The teachers would change the trials when they realised someone had snuck inside. If that happened, Harry and Henry had to wait for months until their guards were down again.

But looking at Harry again, she backed down. If he said he couldn't do it, then he couldn't, and forcing him would only make things worse. She took his hand again, squeezed it and promised him she'd come up with another plan.

With a last glance at the mirror and her former family, she dragged him out of the room, through the black flames and forced him to drink the potion for the purple ones. The troll was still out cold, thank Merlin. Then they found themselves back at the chessboard.

"Harry, please, I need you to fly us over it," Henry begged. Harry nodded stiffly, mounted it and carefully steered them to the other side. They brought the broom to the Devil's Snare, where they flew up to a still sleeping Fluffy. Henry threw it down again, closed the trap door and picked up the flute. She only performed the counterspell when they were at the door. They ran all the way to the Room of Requirements, hidden by the Invisibility Cloak, and slept there for the night.

"Henry?" Harry whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I never want to go down there again."

She turned to face him. His eyes were wide and scared. "Alright, I won't take you there anymore. I'll find another solution."

He sobbed. "I'm sorry."

"Aw Harry, you haven't done anything wrong." She quickly hugged him. "I don't want to force you to do something you don't want to, and there's nothing wrong with not going through with it. I'm sorry for making you go with me."

"I'm your brother; I can't leave you to do this alone."

"You're not. You can still help me plan."

"Henry? I love you."

She grinned. "And I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have siblings, is that obvious? O_o Does having a cousin as a neighbour since she was born count? No? I thought not... Well, most siblings aren't united like Harry and Henry, I guess.
> 
> Also yes, I Googled the riddle from Snape's trial. It was long. Way longer than I remembered.
> 
> And yes, I know the Philosopher's Stone is not, in fact, a Deathly Hallow, but it's been thirteen years since Henry last read the series, and she's bound to forget stuff.


	12. Heaven and Earth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings this time, just fluffy moments... was what I thought, but nope. Also, I'm battling a serious case of on/off writer's block right now, and my current life situation is not making it any easier. To update you on that, my parents are separating (this has been going on for months), with dad moving this Saturday (tomorrow!) and me and mum in the beginning/middle of February (don't worry, mum and dad are still friends and I'm not angry).
> 
> Not only do I have to deal with moving, I have upcoming exams, tests and a ton of assignments to finish, courtesy of my university professors. Oh, and a funeral, because someone really close to me passed away recently… haha… and I thought 2020 sucked. Ha, 2020 doesn't hold a candle to all the BS 2021 has thrown at me.
> 
> But this A/N is long enough already, so let's end it here. I hope you enjoy chapter 12!

_**Warning:** _ **a mental breakdown, because we can never have anything nice**

Fred and George didn't see the twins until Sunday. The first-years behaved like everything was fine, but Fred and George noticed how their eyes darted around every room they entered, and how they always held hands or touched shoulders. When they asked about it, Henry played it off and blamed nightmares.

Fred and George didn't believe her for a moment, and decided they had to brighten the mood somehow. They decided on something simple: visiting the kitchen. They persuaded the younger twins to follow them to a painting, and when Fred tickled the pear, Harry laughed in disbelief.

The kitchen was big and warm, with house-elves milling around everywhere. They were preparing lunch, that much was clear. One house-elf walked up to them and poked Fred in the knee.

"And what wants the students this time?"

"Hello there, Blue. We'd like to borrow a part of the kitchen, if it's not too much of a bother." Fred felt Harry and Henry's curious eyes on him.

"Blueberry fix. You waits here." The house-elf darted off somewhere, and Henry moved closer to Fred.

"There's so many," she said.

"Oh, yeah. You should see the difference after dinner!" He saw how uncomfortable she was and patted her head. "It's fine, Henry. They won't touch you." She gave a nod, but didn't tear her eyes away from the shorter creatures.

Blueberry returned and showed them to a corner. "Here is space. What wants students to make?"

Fred and George gestured for Harry and Henry to decide. The twins frowned, thinking hard.

"Blueberry pie," said Henry. "I want blueberry pie."

Blueberry snapped her fingers and the ingredients appeared out of thin air. "Call if you needs help," she said and joined her friends.

Fred took charge, telling Harry and George to make the crust while he and Henry made the filling. Harry mixed sugar, oats and flour while George diced the butter. Fred stirred the blueberries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and lemon juice together in a large bowl. Henry went to ask the house-elf for some space in the oven. When she came back, she decorated the pie and then she placed the pie in the oven. While they waited twenty minutes for it to bake, George dug up a set of Exploding Snaps.

Henry won only one time, but she was proud of it. By that time, the pie was ready to be served. The house-elves conjured a small table and four chairs for them, and they happily sat down to eat. They talked non-stop about everything between heaven and earth, from Fred and George's Quidditch training, to classes, the Burrow and Harry's favourite food.

They offered to clean after themselves when they were done, but the house-elves shooed them away before they could.

"I don't think I've ever offended someone for trying to do the dishes," Henry said. "Do they love to clean that much?"

"I don't know about that," said Fred, and steered them away from the kitchen, "but they love the work they do here."

Henry didn't understand, but then, they didn't live with Petunia and Vernon. They said their goodbyes at the enchanted stairs, where Fred and George went to Gryffindor and Harry and Henry went to the Room of Requirements. They sat on the comfortable sofa the room provided them.

"I like Christmas," Harry proclaimed. "I've never gotten so many presents before!"

"Likewise." Henry held up parts of the blue scarf and grinned. "And Mrs Weasley gave us clothes! I can't believe a stranger gave us something!"

"I hope we'll get to meet her one day. I want to personally thank her for doing this."

Henry nodded, and they relaxed a bit. A burning fireplace appeared before them, and Henry figued Harry had wished for it.

"Do you think the next trials will be as easy as these ones?" she asked with a yawn.

"I don't know… If you're right, and they're designed for us—or me, whatever—to clear, then the new ones can't be that difficult."

"What if I'm not right? What if you were just partially lucky, or something?"

Harry didn't know what to think, but he'd rather think much of it was due to dumb luck. The alternative, that his book counterpart had been engineered, was much too frightening.

"If that's the case," he said slowly, "then I hope you're good at improvising."

"I don't think I am… I've been using what I know all this time. I didn't expect us to not get the Stone. I… I didn't plan for this. I don't know what'll happen. I don't know what to do."

"We're on the right track, I think. I mean, we've studied so hard we should get a prize or something. It's ridiculous how far ahead the curriculum we are. I hope what we've learned so far will be enough, because we can't do much else without any information."

"I'll ask Daycrusher again," sighed Henry.

"Good idea. And why not Fred and George, too? They're third-years; they should be able to help."

Henry hesitated. "They don't have anything to do with this though," she said. She didn't want to involve them, in case they got hurt.

Harry snorted. "So protecting them is fine, but letting me be isn't? Ouch Henry, you wound me."

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop a smile from blooming. "Dork."

"But you still love me."

"True." She looked at the non-existing roof. "Last time, they covered some of their trials in class. Professor Sprout taught us about the Devil's Snare, for example. And in the book, it felt like Dumbledore handed you the Invisibility Cloak so you could find Erised. Hopefully they'll give us hints this time too."

* * *

Harry and Henry walked to the Black Lake early the next morning. As per usual, Sirius was there, waiting for them. The three of them kept close to the border of the Forbidden Forest, with Harry and Henry occasionally calling for Daycrusher. Since it was December, and it was extremely cold, they weren't sure the snake would come. Or it might be hiding in the castle for all they knew.

"I read somewhere that snakes go into brumation," said Harry when they walked back to the castle.

"They what?"

"Brumation, basically a lighter form of hibernation."

"I wish I could hibernate."

He chuckled at that. "What I meant to say was that Daycrusher is most likely asleep." If they wanted to meet him, they had to catch him while he was out and hunting. Snakes had to feed every once in a while, even while brumating.

Since there weren't many students left in the castle, they went on a hunt for the snake, under the Invisibility Cloak (after eating breakfast with Fred and George, and also convincing them that they needed some alone time), sometimes calling out to the snake in Parseltongue.

They gave up sometime right before lunch, and sat hidden in an alcove on the fourth floor, with the Cloak covering their legs.

"What do we do now?" asked Henry. They needed Daycrusher to spy on the teachers, in case they discussed remaking the trials.

"I… I'll think about something," said Harry. "Maybe there's some kind of golem magic? Like, we can infuse magic into objects and make them temporarily sentient?"

"Harry, that would be too advanced for us."

"Doesn't hurt to try," he said, but didn't believe his own words. "It's alright, we can try again later. Right now though—" Voices from another corridor drifted over to them and he snapped his mouth shut. Quickly, they hid underneath the Cloak. They didn't want to lie to anyone if they asked what they were doing here.

To their surprise, Fred and George rounded the corner, Fred holding what Henry recognised as the Marauder's Map.

Seriously? Now of all times! Exasperated, she pressed closer to Harry, hoping the Cloak was unplottable. I mean, not even Death could find the third brother, so of course it has to be.

"Where'd they go?" asked Fred, his eyes moving from the map to the empty corridor. "They were here a second ago!"

"Maybe they found a hidden passage?"

"Like the map wouldn't know it."

"A, uh… an unplottable passage?"

Fred gave his brother a tired look. "Seriously?"

George shrugged. "How else do you suppose they disappeared into thin air? They were here, and we didn't see them leave, nor did they move, at least according to the map. Their names just disappeared."

Fred looked at the map again. "Ugh, I don't know. Let's just keep going. They have to be somewhere." George followed him around the corner. Harry and Henry managed to take a relieved breath when the older twins screamed and came running back. After them came Daycrusher.

"Wait, come back," he called. "Have you ssseen the ssspeakersss?"

"That's a boa constrictor!" shrieked Fred. "What's it doing in Hogwarts?" George didn't reply, he simply kept running. They shot past the twins and turned down the corridor they came from.

Harry threw the cloak off when Daycrusher was about to slide past them. "Fancy ssseeing you here."

"Ah, ssspeakersss." Daycrusher curled around himself at their feet. "I heard you calling for me."

"That'sss right," said Henry and reached down to pet him. His tongue glided over the back of her hand. It tickled. "Have you heard anything from the teachersss?"

Daycrusher informed them he had. During the few times he woke up to hunt, he stayed with the teachers if he could. As the twins had feared, they knew someone had broken into the third floor and nearly gotten the Stone.

"We really need to know what kind of trialsss they come up with," said Henry to Daycrusher. "Whenever you have the time, pleassse check up on them, and if you can, come find usss."

"I promissse I'll try." Daycrusher made some excited noise when Henry presented him with a dead mouse. He swallowed it, thanked them and left, presumably to find the professors.

"Hopefully Daycrusher finds something out," Harry said and gathered the Cloak. "Right now though, I'm starving. Let's go."

Henry laughed and followed him. They rounded the corner to the same corridor Fred and George took, only to stop at the sight of the older twins gaping at them.

"You're Parselmouths!" exclaimed Fred. "How long…? What did you say to the snake?"

Harry and Henry looked at each other, unsure what to say.

"We, uh… we… told it it had nice scales…?"

Harry's shoulders started to shake, and Henry wanted to step on his foot in retaliation. She wasn't a good liar, so what?

Fred groaned and massaged the bridge of his nose. "You know that's a really Dark ability, right?"

"Figures," muttered Harry.

"Does anyone else know?"

"George does," Henry said.

Fred gave his twin an accusatory look. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Wha— I didn't! Henry, don't say that."

She blinked up at him. "But George, you saw us at the zoo, you said so yourself."

"I didn't hear you speak to it!"

"Oh. My bad." She tried to play it off with a goofy grin, but neither of the Gryffindors found it very funny. "Alright… So we brought him here on purpose, but Daycrusher's very nice and polite, I promise!"

"It's name is Daycrusher?" George shook his head. "Of course it is."

"Daycrusher's a he, you big meanie. And he wasn't trying to hurt you, he was looking for us."

"And why is that?"

Henry looked at Harry. Had she said too much? The boy shrugged in reply. It's your choice, the gesture said. Henry sighed. Fred and George wouldn't stop pestering them until they told them the truth.

"Because we needed his help. He's spying on the professors."

Fred frowned. "Why? Has it anything to do with you trying to steal—" he quickly looked around before casting Silencio "—the Philosopher's Stone?"

"Well—yes."

Fred and George looked at each other, and Harry and Henry saw a silent conversation ensuing. When they were done, the boys looked at them with determination.

"What do you need help with?" It was Fred who spoke.

"Help?" asked Harry.

"Duh, we're not letting you do this alone. You obviously didn't make it last time, so this time, we're helping you," replied George. "Now, what's the plan?"

"We kind of… we kind of don't have one," Henry said, not fully registering what happened.

"Alright, we need some privacy. Let's go."

"Henry," hissed Harry, dragging her with him. "Should we tell them about the Room of Requirements?"

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

She shook her head to straighten her thoughts. "Sorry. I just can't believe they willingly put themselves through this. And I don't understand why?"

Harry gave her a small smile. "Why else but friendship? Hey Fred, George, I know someplace we can go, but you have to promise not to tell anyone."

Henry watched him lead their little group to the seventh floor. Her chest felt lighter, like a weight had been lifted from it. She didn't have to do this alone now. She happily walked up to them and put her arm around Harry's shoulders. He snaked his around her waist. They both laughed at Fred and George's gaping expressions when the door materialised on the wall.

"This is neat!" Fred exclaimed, and whipped out his trusted Map. "And it doesn't show on the map!"

"It's unplottable, just like this," Harry explained, and held up the Cloak. While he gave a demonstration, Henry asked the room to prepare two couches and a fireplace. George noticed and whistled, impressed.

"When did you find this place?"

She averted her gaze. "Around the time Pansy threw me out of the room." He patted her head with a smile.

They all took a seat, and Harry began explaining the trials, and how and why they failed. He told them about Daycrusher's report, and that they worried the new trials might be too much for them to handle. Fred and George promised to look up more advanced spells and potions, but couldn't do much more due to the lack of information. Still, them being there was enough for Harry and Henry to feel safe and relaxed. Hopefully, this would all somehow work out.

* * *

Christmas break ended and the new school year began. Draco, Blaise and the others came back and showered the twins with anecdotes and hugs. Harry and Henry in return thanked everyone for their presents and hoped theirs were to their liking.

School started up again, and soon everyone found themselves busy revising last term's curriculum as well as continuing with the current one. January bled into February without news from Daycrusher. Instead, the Weasley and Potter twins focused all of their attention on the classes held by six of the seven teachers responsible for the trials guarding the Philosopher's Stone. Every bit of information could be crucial.

Snape taught them new potions, and kept making Henry's life miserable. She wondered if any of the potions would be used in his trial, or if he scrapped that theme entirely. At least he taught them how to identify unknown potions. Neville had done something wrong, and to set an example, Snape wanted everyone to try and identify the telltale signs of the potion they were supposed to make. There weren't a lot left.

Nothing in Professor Sprout's lessons seemed usable either. She only went through the standard curriculum and never strayed, not even to tell a personal story. It made Harry worry, wondering what in the world she was planning.

Fred and George informed them Quirrell had had them read a whole chapter dedicated to dragons, and then something called an Erumpent. Harry hoped that, if they had to fight any kind of creature, Quirrell was opting for the exploding hippo-elephant chimera rather than the dragons.

Professor McGonagall was like Professor Sprout, and didn't offer anything extraordinary. It didn't really support Henry's theory of everything being tailored to make Harry the Chosen One, but she was still sure it was true, at least in the books. Several times over she had to remind herself this was not the same, that this was real, and the books were now only prophecies. If there was something she remembered without Trelawney's help, it was that prophecies only worked if you believed them.

In hindsight, Henry must have royally screwed herself from the very beginning.

Harry and Henry kept quiet about their planned theft if they weren't in the Room of Requirement. For one, they didn't want random students or staff hearing about it, and they also didn't want to involve more people. Stealing the Philosopher's Stone was definitely illegal, and if Draco or Blaise or anyone else got caught, it would be a scandal. Henry didn't want to burden her friends with that responsibility, so she kept a smile on her lips and spent as much time with them as she could, outside of studies, extra curricular classes and secret plottings.

Draco was very happy with her attention, and the two of them spent a lot of sleepless nights playing wizarding games. Sometimes, if Draco felt brave enough, they went stargazing. He once pointed out the constellation he was named after.

"You seem better," he said, his eyes scanning the night sky for other constellations. "Do the Draughts help?"

"Yes, they do. And yeah, I'm feeling a bit better."

"Fabulous. I hope it stays that way. Next time you can't sleep, let's build a pillow fort."

Henry giggled and apologised. She had taken the last dose of Sleeping Draught the night before, and hadn't realised until she was about to take it tonight. Tomorrow, she had to get more from Madam Pomfrey.

Times like this, when it was just her and Draco, were her favourites. There were no megalomaniacs trying to kill her, the Philosopher's Stone wasn't a priority and she didn't have to worry about Occlumency or homework or Harry. It was simply her, Draco and the vast sky. And gossip.

"So, Pansy's back," Draco mumbled.

"Ouch. So, how is she?"

He wrinkled his nose. "Pale, but alive. Millicent and Daphne spoke to her during dinner, and apparently her parents are thinking of transferring her to Durmstrang."

Henry cringed. "I suppose I should apologise, but do you think she'll even speak to me?"

"Doubtful. If not because of fear, then because she thinks you're mad."

Henry sighed in defeat.

They kept coming back to the same place, watching the stars and talking about everything between heaven and earth. It was refreshing, not having to think about anything special at all, to be only Henry, herself.

Daycrusher reappeared at the end of February. He came sliding out from the Forest while Harry and Henry visited Hagrid for their weekly tea time. Harry distracted Hagrid while Henry heard the snake out.

"Ssspeaker, I have found out one of the trialsss."

"What? Really? That'sss amazzzing!" she exclaimed. "What isss it?"

"The old man, he sssaid he isss keeping the mirror. Isss that of any help?"

It was. At least she knew to be prepared to face those people again, though she loathed to do so. But she wished he had found out one of the new trials, but this was better than nothing.

"Thank you, Daycrusssher."

Harry was more worried than her about the mirror, but at least he didn't have to look at it again. He refused to tell her what he had seen, however much she pestered him about it. Henry wasn't sure if she should worry about it or not, and decided to keep it at the backburner for the time being.

Their Saturday classes went smoothly, much to the thanks of Fred and George, and Luciana whenever she had time to stop by. She had been intrigued by their little gathering, and sometimes gave Henry and Harry charms to research for it.

Regarding the Occlumency however… Blaise managed to leave his landscape without Luciana's help. Just like Draco, he wasn't entirely sure how he did it, but he knew for a fact he had wished to leave. That didn't help the others a lot, except Hermione, who got another dose of motivation and dove into her mind immediately.

And then there was Henry, who focused more on her layers than on being able to leave. She had ten now, but they were more caricatures of what she had in mind than finished products. This time, she wanted to explore the original layer, to see if she could find her memories. She teleported herself there, and looked around. It was still the same milky surface as ever; nothing had really changed.

Henry sat cross-legged on the ground and pressed her hands to it. She felt a warm, rhythmical pulse beneath her palms. She had noticed it a couple weeks ago, and wondered what it was.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and coaxed her mind to follow the pulse. In the blink of an eye, she was somewhere else entirely. It was also dark as heck, and Henry realised she was below ground.

That's a first.

She willed light to life and looked around. Circular discs portraying ever-changing images floated around in the space. She giggled nervously. Of course her memories were buried. Where else would they be?

She touched the one closest to her, and suddenly she was back at the Sorting. She froze, terror seizing her heart, before she remembered this was just a memory, that all of this had already passed. She moved, and separated from the body in her memory.

"Oh Merlin," she winced, seeing how awful she had looked that day. It was odd, seeing herself in a memory. How was that possible, when she hadn't seen herself? Shaking her head, she looked around the room, and caught sight of Snape's disdain. He must have though Lily came back from the dead.

Henry didn't want to relive this. How did she get out? She put a hand on her body's shoulder and was sucked out of the memory.

"Thanks," she muttered. Now that she knew where the memories were, it was easier to hide them. There was no reason to move them above ground, but she wanted extra layers down here, in case someone thought of digging them up.

She made a cave of darkness. It was hard to fully describe it, but the dark walls weren't solid; they moved at all times, the shadows coiling around themselves. Some of them looked like compact mist. It took a lot of energy to bend the void. She didn't come far before giving up and deciding that she might as well try and leave. It didn't work (what a surprise), and she left the cave, tired of the light. There she tried again, willing herself back to her body, hyper-focusing on her wish to leave.

Something abruptly tugged at her chest, and she felt herself leave the ground, only to fall flat on her face. She looked at the ground, dazed, and grinned. She had nearly done it! If only she tried again—

The world was ripped from her grasp and tumbled back to consciousness. She hit her head on the bookshelf behind her and cursed.

"It's time to end the lesson," Luciana calmly informed her. Sometimes Henry forgot the girl was supposed to be twelve.

"I see. Thank you. But next time, I might be able to do it myself." She followed the group out of the nook and stretched her poor back.

"Did it go well?" Luciana asked.

"Yes! I found my memories, you see. And I almost made it back without help, so I'm feeling quite accomplished right now."

Luciana gave a proud smile. "That is great to hear. You are all wonderful students."

Henry couldn't help but feel happy about the praise. As of the new year, it was easier to feel better, to think positively about everything. She wasn't sure if there was a special reason, more than knowing she wasn't alone in her quest to save the Stone from Voldemort.

Oh. That might be it, actually, she realised. I'm not alone. And Voldemort won't get the Stone either, if the trials become harder from here on out.

Luciana was taken aback by the gleeful smile on Henry's face, but didn't question it. Instead, she smiled back, and patted the girl on the shoulder.

* * *

The first Monday of March, Henry exited Transfiguration with her friends, feeling slightly better than usual. She had managed to transfigure her poor mouse into a snuff box, something she had been struggling with since day one. That book, Transfiguration for Dummies, was really helpful.

"I'm beat," Theo complained. "Where does she get all the mice from?"

"Probably the grounds. And why are you so tired? You were excellent," Blaise replied with a small smile. Theo pouted and argued that he could be tired even if he was a genius. "When did I ever call you that?"

"That's rude!"

Henry rolled her eyes in amusement and tuned them out. Instead she glanced at Draco. He smirked and asked if she needed to borrow his notes.

"Dork." She playfully nudged his arm.

"What? You're worthless at Transfiguration, of course you need them." He laughed at her blowing him a raspberry. "Very ladylike."

"Ugh, boys," she complained, which funnily enough ended the argument.

They walked to their rooms, where they dumped their school supplies. Today it had been decided they wouldn't spend the evening studying, instead the four of them were going to play some Exploding Snaps. Henry sighed, because she knew she was finishing dead last, and she was right. That was, until Adam Beakley and Finlei Choi wanted to join. She and Adam were now competing for the last place, while Finlei and Theo battled each other for the top spot.

All in all, it was a fun evening, and the six of them went to dinner together. Henry broke away from the group to say hi to Harry (and embarrass him in front of his friends by kissing his cheek) and to sneakily throw some itching powder in Fred and George's robes.

"Merlin!" Fred exclaimed and jumped to his feet. "Woman, that's evil!"

"Just what we should expect from a Slytherin," said George before the twins ran for the nearest bathroom. Henry chuckled down the table and hugged Hermione, who rolled her eyes at her.

"Was that necessary?" she asked, but couldn't hide her amusement.

"Of course! Strike when they least suspect it, you know."

"I didn't think you liked pranks."

Henry waved her goodbyes and grinned. "I mostly don't. But today I'm in a good mood." At least until she saw Ron's disgusted scowl. Her own grin froze. What was his problem? Next time, she was spelling his robes Slytherin green.

"What happened?" Draco asked.

"Ron Weasley." She sat down and accepted the Shepherd's Pie Finlei handed her. "Thanks."

"I see. Next time, hex him. I can teach you the ones I know." They kept bad mouthing Ron throughout dinner. If Henry hadn't been upset at seeing his ugly face, she would have stopped them. As it was, she thought he deserved it.

A sudden shrill pain echoed in her mind. Her fork clattered on the table as she clutched her head. Someone was trying to enter her mind.

"Henry?" Draco asked somewhere far away. "Henry, what's wrong? Are you alright? Hey, look at—"

She dove into her mind and blocked whoever was trying to enter. She landed on the top layer she had created, and waited to see if the Legilimens was going to rip open her mind or not. Moments bled into seconds and seconds into minutes. Nothing happened. She took a deep breath, and then she cursed. How the hell was she getting out of here?

I want t e, she ordered her magic, with more intensity than ever. She envisioned a string of magic hooking to her back and reaching up above the endless clouds of her mind. It mentally pulled her up, and then she felt her real mental body jerk.

She miscalculated. She resurfaced with enough force to slam her head into the table, or rather the pie on her plate. People yelped in surprise. Henry lifted her head to look at Blaise, Theo and Adam, who were sitting opposite of her, Draco and Finlei. She met Theo's wide, surprised eyes.

"What in Slytherin's name happened?" demanded Draco. He pulled out a handkerchief and began cleaning her face.

"Someone used Legilimency on me," she whispered, and took the tissue Finlei offered and picked up food from her lap. "Oh, and I managed to get out of my landscape without help. Congratulate me."

Draco snorted. "Congrats. Now, let's get you to the bathroom." He got as far as standing up, before Millicent and Daphne took over the duty of cleaning her up. Hermione, who saw them leave, hurriedly followed, not really trusting Pansy's former lackeys.

"Scourgify," said Hermione, and the food disappeared. She gave the greasy spots on Henry's robe the stinky-eye. "I thought this was a cleaning spell."

"It is, but it doesn't always help on greasy things," said Millicent helpfully, and waved her wand. With a quick "Tergeo!" the spots disappeared as well.

"I wanna learn that spell," Henry said.

"It's very advanced," the girl warned. Henry pouted. "But I can give you my notes on it."

"Yes please! And… Thank you for helping me out. It was really nice of you." The two of them accepted her thanks and returned to the Great Hall. Henry didn't move, which meant Hermione stayed back as well.

"What is it?" the Gryffindor asked.

"Someone tried to break into my mind. I'd rather not go back there."

Hermione gave her a stern look. "How much did you eat?"

"Excuse you, I ate two servings of pie," Henry said with a smile. It was immediately replaced with a worried frown. "But I'm serious, I'd rather not return. I don't know who the perpetrator was, and they can still be in there."

Hermione nodded in understanding. "Then let's go somewhere else," she said, and dragged Henry to the library. She giggled. How typical. "We both know you love it as much as me."

"The truth has been spoken." That earned her a well-deserved eye-roll.

They found an empty couch and relaxed against it. Hermione played with her sleeves for a moment, gathering courage, before stating, "You look happier."

"So I've been told."

Hermione resisted rolling her eyes again. "What I meant to ask was, are you happier? Or are you pretending?"

"What makes you think that?"

She shrugged helplessly, suddenly looking very worried. "I don't know, it's just… you've been looking so sad all this time, and then I come back to find you smiling and laughing and… I'm worried you're taking too much Draught of Peace."

Henry's breath caught. "What?" How had she noticed she was taking it?

"Promise you're not going to be angry." Henry nodded slowly. "Harry told me."

"Uh, what?" Since when were they so friendly with each other? He had yet to apologise for being rude the first time they met. She hadn't expected Hermione to forget that.

Hermione gave a small smile at that. "He apologised months ago, Henry. You were just too busy worrying about… whatever it is you're worrying about. Is it anything dangerous?"

"It's my middle name," she grumbled. At Hermione's odd look, she blushed. "Well, in one way, yes. But Fred and George and Harry are helping me fix it. But thank you for worrying."

"You're my best friend, of course I'm worried."

Henry couldn't help grinning at that. Her, Hermione's best friend? It was something she had never thought of. She was honoured.

"You're one of mine too."

Hermione got a smug look in her eyes. "Oho? Who else holds the title?"

"Harry, Draco, you know, those I spend most time with."

"Fair enough." They laughed. "But to clarify, you truly are as happy as you look?"

Henry nodded. Truthfully, she felt free, relaxed, and she hadn't felt this great since they got here. It might only be for a short period before her pessimism dragged her down again, but she was damned if she didn't enjoy it for as long as it lasted.

Madam Pince chased them out a few minutes later, and they hugged in goodbye, Hermione leaving for Gryffindor and Henry for Slytherin. She skipped rather than walked down the corridors, sometimes smiling, sometimes doing weird, excited gestures with her hands. She was Hermione's best friend! And Harry was happy, and Draco was happy, and Fred and George were helping her with the Stone! Things were going well.

"Hey, you."

Henry turned to look at Ron in annoyance. Why did he have to interrupt her now? Was it because she was in a good mood?

"What?"

"What did you do to Fred and George?"

He was upset about that? It was a joke! Everyone knew they were her friends, and that she hadn't meant any harm.

"I stuffed itching powder down their clothes. What of it?"

"Keep your hands away from them. Actually, don't go near them at all. You're corrupting them."

Not this again.

"Ron, seriously, it was a harmless prank. They've done much worse. And if anything, they're corrupting me." All their pranks throughout the months had inspired her.

"They, corrupting you? With what, Light?" he sneered.

"I'm not having this conversation again." She turned on her heels.

"Epoximise!"

Henry's feet came to an abrupt stop.

_N o_

_no  
_

_no_

_N O_

Never again was she getting trapped by a delusional First Year. She hunched over her chest, pressing her hands against it because Merlin she couldn't breathe and the edges of her vision were darkening and her ears ringing and Ron was laughing ho he?

It was a feeling, rather than a command. A shockwave, more than an incantation. But her magic answered either way, and undid whatever Ron had done. Filled with rage, she slapped him, hit him, kicked him, all the while screaming to stop bothering me what have I eve to you?!

He was crying, saying something, but she didn't hear, didn't care, and finally, when she'd had enough, yelled "Ebublio!" Horrified, Ron stared at her like she was a monster, as the bubble around him rose from the ground. How sad there weren't any windows here, or else she would have opened them.

"Please, don't!"

She must have said that out loud. Oh well, whatever. She left him there, and walked back to the common room, her chest still tight, her ears still ringing and now feeling like vomiting.

She couldn't breathe.

"Henry."

"Expelliarmus!" she cried. George's wand was ripped from his grasp, and he immediately put his arms in the air, appearing disarming. For once, there wasn't a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Henry, please put down your wand. Won't you do that for me?"

"Why? Why should I? Did you find Ron? Did Fred? It's his fault. I was happy. For once in my life I was HAPPY!"

George nodded. "I know that. We all know. Kinda hard to miss when you're as radiant as the sun." He tried giving her a smile. It was stiff. "But Henry, you're hurt. You're bleeding. Please let me help you."

"No, don't touch me, not with your magic or spells or hands or wand or whatever. I don't want you here and I don't want him here and I just want to be happy."

"Alright, I can do that. I don't have to touch you."

"YOU ALWAYS TOUCH ME!"

He grimaced. "Ah, well… How about we… uh… stay six feet from each other? I'll take you to Madam Pomfrey and you keep the distance. How 'bout that? Sounds good?"

Henry sobbed. "I don't want to go back there. I'm always there. Always hurt. Always sad. I'm tired of that. I was happy, and he ruined it."

George's brown eyes softened. "Oh Henry, I'm so sorry. He's an arse. I'll have him grovel in front of you tomorrow, begging for forgiveness, but right now—"

Henry's breath hitched, and another wave of panic hit her. Ron was more hurt than her. He was going to Madam Pomfrey. She wasn't going if he was there! No way. Screw Ron Weasley, she was tired of him, tired of his eyes, his glares, his sneers. She didn't want to see him or hear him or about him, just get away, begone, leave.

"Henry, am I Fred or George?"

She gave him a dumb stare. "What?"

"Who am I? Fred or George?" he asked again. How was he staying so calm? "It's a simple question for you, right?"

She nodded. "You're George."  
"I am. How'd you know?"

Hadn't he asked that before? Or was it him? She didn't remember. "I just do. You feel different from Fred, and he feels different from you. You can never be him."

George grinned. "Please teach mum your ways, Mistress." She snorted, and he relaxed a bit. "Henry, can you put down your wand now? My arms are hurting."

She did, and he massaged his limbs. She threw him his wand too, which he nearly missed. Giving her a loopsided grin, he gestured for her to follow him. She didn't.

"I'm not going there, George. Not when he's there."

"Yeah, I figured that out. We're not going there, though. We're going to your unplottable room." He held out his hand, and she took it after hesitating a moment. It was warm, soft, and gentle. Next thing she knew, she was in his arms, bawling.

George held her tight and let her cry to her heart's content, one hand holding her back and the other tangled in her hair. Right now, seeing her like this, made his blood boil. He was having a serious conversation with Ron tonight. Last time obviously hadn't been enough.

He waited for her to gather herself enough to follow him to the Room of Requirement, where he stayed until she fell asleep. Fred came through the door around that time, stating that Madam Pomfrey was taking care of Ron but was reporting it to Professor Dumbledore.

"No surprise there," George said and yawned. "Dear Merlin, I feel too old for this."

Fred nodded in agreement. "Feels like we've aged a lifetime, doesn't it? What should we do with Ron? My choice is to write to mum about it, but honestly I don't know if that'll help any." Sure, they all respected (and feared) their mother, but with Ron being like this, it was doubtful he would realise his mistakes, even if she sent him a Howler.

George looked at the sleeping Henry and motioned for Fred to leave. They leaned against the wall outside, letting the chill air cool them down.

"Go tell Percy," George said. "We're going to have a serious conversation about bigotry, blood status and bullying. And remind him what happened to the last person that upset her."

"We're not threatening him, George."

"Of course not, but do you want him to look like Parkinson?" Fred winced. "Thought so. Now, get Percy. I'll talk to Ron in the meantime. Merlin, what the bloody hell happened to him?"

Fred didn't know what to say, and the question was left unanswered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regarding the Invisibility Cloak. I have a hard time buying something man-made besting an object made to trick literal Death. It says on the Harry Potter Wiki that the Marauder's Map was not tricked by invisibility cloaks, but then again, there are two kinds: those made by humans and one made by Death. So I came to the conclusion that Death's Cloak is unplottable, as per Ignotus Peverell's request.
> 
> I mean, the Wiki said the map apparently didn't show unplottable rooms like the Room of Requirements (which was why Fred and George in earlier chapters were so confused whenever Henry went into the room), so I don't think my choice here is too far-fetched. *Cough* I know Remus saw the Golden Trio on the map when they wore the Cloak, but honestly I call bull on that.
> 
> Also, if we go by the movies, Death made the Cloak from its own garments. If the Cloak was actually plottable like in the books, that means the Marauder's Map should be able to detect Death. It doesn't sound possible that a group of teenage boys managed to best Death like that, even unintentionally.
> 
> And I suppose I should mention I'm disregarding the movie version of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. They're co-ed, just like Hogwarts, and there was no reason for the movie to change that. So I'm sticking to the book versions, where Ollivander is a Beauxbatons alumni and Durmstrang is not a boarding school for boys.
> 
> Sorry for the long A/N, but I felt it necessary to explain these things, since they might not be explained further in the fanfic. And yes, I mix info from both books and movies, if you haven't noticed already.


	13. The Essence of Friendship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might not be an update next week, because we're moving then. Obviously, I'll have to focus on that and on my studies. And sorry for the shorter chapter this time. It was a struggle to write, and sometimes I forced myself.

Ron was in pain. A lot of pain. All because of that psycho, Henrietta Potter. She was bloody mad! Attacked him out of nowhere when he just wanted her to stay away from his family. She was bad news, why didn't anyone realise that? No one that survived You-Know-Who was getting sorted into _his_ House without something being majorly wrong. They couldn't have one of the Potter Twins being evil! There was no saying how much she had corrupted Harry Potter already.

He was interrupted by the doors to the Hospital Wing opening. George strode inside, looking tired and haggard.

"Ron, why did you do that?"

"How about a 'are you okay, Ron'?" he grumbled from his bed.

George didn't smile. He sat down on a chair and gave him a look of disappointment. It wasn't often Ron saw _that_ expression on his prank-loving brothers. It made him itchy.

"I don't feel sorry for you," George said gravely, "because you should have seen this coming." He gestured to Ron's swollen face and bandaged knuckles.

"What? George, _she_ attacked _me_!"

"Henry doesn't like violence, so I doubt she threw the first punch. Not even with Pansy Parkinson. Tell me, Ron, when you confronted her about whatever it was, were you prepared to face her outburst? How were you so sure you wouldn't end up like her own Housemate?"

Ron bit his tongue. He hadn't thought of that. It had been months since Parkinson was hospitalised, and Henrietta Potter had remained fairly calm since. He thought back to her punches and realised he had been lucky. Had she used her magic like with Parkinson, he'd probably be dead.

George saw the moment Ron had his epiphany, and nodded. At least he understood the gravity of the situation.

"When Henry calms down, I'm taking you to apologise to her."

"What? Are you mad? Why would I?"

"Uh." George hadn't expected him to argue. "Because you provoked her for no reason, probably attacked her, could have been severely wounded, _and_ you're causing trouble for our whole family _and_ the school. You're in the wrong, Ron, and you should apologise for that."

"But I'm not! Henrietta Potter is evil."

George dragged his hands down his face and groaned. Had they done something wrong? Neglected him? He didn't understand why he suddenly attacked _one girl_ because she… was in Slytherin? Was their friend?

"Nothing she's done so far can be chalked up to being evil," he stated, leveling his brother with another disappointed look. "She's hardworking, intelligent and tries her hardest to fit in. Did it look like she wanted to be in Slytherin?"

Ron remembered how pale she had been, and how her face and hair had gone pure white. But she was a Slytherin, and they were evil.

"She's friends with Malfoy, Zabini and Nott," he argued. "You can't tell me she's not bad news."

"Merlin, Ron, have you ever had a conversation with them?"

"Why would I?"

George wanted to hit something. Preferably Ron. But he was his brother and he wasn't about to hurt him. Henry had done that for him.

"Not everything is as it seems, you know. Sure, they come from old traditionalist families, but they try hard to bridge the gap between them and Henry."

"Because she's famous! Don't you think someone like Lucius Malfoy would use someone like her for his own benefit?"

He was right, of course. No way Lucius Malfoy hadn't already tried taking advantage of his son's friendship with Henry. On the other hand, she was a smart girl, and George didn't doubt she could see through his schemes if he tried anything.

"Still, Henry isn't someone that would let herself be used. If you tried to talk to any of them, you'd know that," George said sternly. "And you know what? Before you start assuming things about someone else, go see for yourself if it's actually true. Who knows, you might even like what you find."

At that moment, the doors opened again, and Fred and Percy entered the Wing. Ron lost all his colour, and had to sit through another lecture about embarrassing the family, the school and himself.

Percy was so mad his face turned red, and he promised retaliation if Ron's behaviour damaged his own reputation. Fred pinched his arm then, and Percy instead said he'd take five points from Gryffindor for the trouble Ron caused.

"Weasleys are not bullies," the Gryffindor Prefect stated. "We are noble, better than the likes of Malfoy, and I refuse to hear more about this. Do you understand, Ronald?"

Ron cringed, but nodded. "I do."

"Perfect. And if you don't apologise to Miss Potter, I'll be forced to take another five points. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Percy."

"Good. Fred, George, can you see that Miss Potter hears it?" They promised they would, and Percy left the Wing to do damage control with Professor McGonagall.

* * *

When Henry woke up, Harry was sitting on the bed, reading a book Draco recommended them. He said nothing as she scooted closer and hugged his waist. She relaxed into his warmth, and for a moment, was blissfully happy again.

But she couldn't stay like this forever.

"How long have you been here?" she asked quietly.

His hand came to rest on her head, playing with her hair. "About an hour, I think. How do you feel?"

"Like crap. I punched him. Ron Weasley, I mean."

Harry snorted. Of course she did. "I hope he's in pain. And before you chide me for that, think about it. He had no reason to come after you. But let's not think about that. Do you need a Draught of Peace?"

"No, I'll manage." To her surprise, she wasn't as upset as she had thought she'd be. She wasn't exactly proud of it, but she did understand Ron was wholly in the wrong. "By the way, how did you know?"

"Fred told me. He and George forced the truth out of him." He gave a tired smile. "Weren't I supposed to be the one getting in trouble all the time? Are you trying to outdo my book counterpart?"

She giggled. "Of course not, but our name seems to be cursed, otherwise I don't know how to explain all of this. Can we go see Sirius?"

"I'm afraid that has to wait. The Headmaster wants to see you."

"Of course he does." They slowly left the bed. Harry put his arm around Henry's shoulders, and she put her around his waist. They hugged like that, a bit awkwardly, which made them both grin, before leaving the room.

"I suppose this turned into a bigger deal than Ron thought it would," said Harry. Henry ignored his gleeful tone.

"Of course it did. Firstly, we're super famous, and the wizarding world won't sit idly by if someone harrasses us. Secondly, Dumbledore already knows what happens when I'm pushed too far; he'll want to make sure I'm alright and won't retaliate."

"Thought about this a lot, have you?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, but even a blind person could figure that out."

He laughed.

Snape waited for them outside Dumbledore's office. Henry refused to look at him, not wanting to ruin her already fragile mood, and together with Harry, followed Snape up the spiral staircase.

The office hadn't changed much since last time, though she now noticed how full of stuff it was. She saw a big telescope, and other trinkets that looked like they belonged in the Astronomy Tower. But what caught her attention the most was the tiny tree on Dumbledore's desk, encased in glass. Except for the bark and shape of the leaves, it looked like a bonsai. Henry had never seen such a tree before.

"Mr and Miss Potter, good to see you again," the Headmaster said. "Please, sit down."

They did, though their dubious expressions made it clear they didn't want to be here, and that they didn't trust him.

"Miss Potter, how are you?"

"Fine, thanks, now that I've calmed down."

"Wonderful! Now, my child, would you kindly tell me what happened?" She sighed heavily and told him and Snape her version of the story. Snape sneered from beginning to end, while Dumbledore frowned thoughtfully.

"And that's what happened," she finished.

"What will you do now?"

She blinked. She was going to finish her homework, then go cuddle up with Draco, Blaise and Theo in the common room and play games.

"What do you feel about Ronald Weasley, Miss Potter?"

She grimaced. "He's a bigoted child that should learn some decency. It's not entirely his fault though, the whole system of Sorting and Houses is designed to breed rivalry, but he made the choice to attack me."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Let me ask you bluntly, my child. Will you get revenge?"

"Ew, God no. I'm not evil, Headmaster, whatever Mr Weasley might have said. If you're thinking about Pansy, that was a mistake. I didn't do it this time."

"I never suggested you were evil, and I can assure you I do not think you are. But children can be sensitive, and with what has already happened, I have to make sure you don't plan on retaliating."

Henry gave him an annoyed glare. "I didn't consciously hurt Pansy, and I didn't want to hurt Mr Weasley either, Headmaster. He attacked me, and I reacted. As far as you and the professors know, I have never willingly hurt someone. So why are you suddenly assuming I might?"

"Henrietta Potter, that is no way to speak to the Headmaster," Snape said angrily. "Apologise for your insolence."

"It's a valid question, and nothing in my behaviour suggested I meant to be rude, professor."

"Ten points from Slytherin!"

"Now now, Severus," sighed Dumbledore, pinching the bridge of his nose. "She is right. I apologise, Miss Potter, for assuming the worst. I have my own opinions of Slytherin, and acted as if they were true. Again, I apologise. But to clarify, you will not go after him?"

She nearly rolled her eyes. "No, Headmaster, I will not. I'm tired of being hurt, and I'm tired of hurting others." She glanced at the tree again. "Is that all?"

Dumbledore nodded. "It is. Do you like the tree?"

"Yeah, it's cute. What's its name?" She and Harry stood up.

"It's a special type of ash, as you can see on the leaves and bark. It only grows in Scandinavia and Iceland."

"Really? Is it magical?"

"Well, it doesn't have magical properties, but it _is_ a potions ingredient, right, Severus?"

Snape gave the Headmaster a sour glance. "That is correct. It is one of the rarest," he said.

"How come?" asked Harry, now also interested.

"As I said, it only grows in Scandinavia, except Denmark, and there are not a lot of them. If you plant a single tree, it will grow a forest within a few years."

Henry immediately thought of the swamp from _Avatar: The Last Airbender_. It had been a single organism as well, originated from the tree in the middle.

"Then why are they so rare?" she asked. "I mean, if they grow an entire forest, there should be plenty, right?"

Snape sighed in exasperation. "They're considered national treasures in Norway, Sweden and Iceland, meaning it is incredibly hard to get permission to harvest them. Not only that, but there are only five forests in total, two in Sweden and Norway, and one in Iceland. What do you think that means, Miss Potter?"

_That you're an arse._ She wanted to smirk when Snape didn't react. He couldn't read her thoughts anymore! Ha!

"That there are currently six of them in existence?" She looked at the one on the table, "since there are five planted, and this one."

"That is correct," said Dumbledore with a kind smile. "I have the privilege of being friends with one of the caretakers in Sweden, and they helped me get a sample. It fits right in, don't you think?"

Harry and Henry mumbled in agreement. What an eccentric old man.

"Do you want to know its name?" Dumbledore asked, and ignored Snape's warning glance. "Yggdrasil."

Henry laughed. Of course a tree like this was named after the world tree in Norse mythology.

"Do you understand the reference, my child?"

"Of course I do. Yggdrasil is said to be an ash tree." She looked at the encased one and smiled, a sense of nostalgia and homesickness washing over her. She had been Swedish once. Had she liked Norse mythology as well?

She shook it off and took Harry's hand. "Thank you for entertaining us, Headmaster, but we won't tie you up any longer." And with those words, they were excused. It wasn't time for dinner yet, so they parted ways with a hug. Draco, Blaise and Theo were hanging out on one of the couch groups when she entered the common room.

"Hey, how are you?" Draco asked and let her lean against his shoulder.

"Tired," she whined. "Have any rumours spread yet?"

"About you? Yeah." He shook his head. "Some say you punched the life out of Ronald Weasley for no reason, others say he deserved it. The majority of Slytherin agrees he had to have upset you."

"True that," she muttered. "Theo, stop hogging the pillows. I want one." He grinned and threw her one of the softest. She put it in Draco's lap. "You make an excellent bed," she told him.

"If father saw me now…" he sighed, but let her rest. He even began playing with her hair. Why did everyone love it so much? Because it was red?

Draco woke her up sometime later, grinning at her sleepy face, and told her it was dinner time.

"Are you eating with us, Gryffindor or Harry?" Blaise asked on the way there. Adam and Finlei joined them with cheerful greetings.

"I dunno. Who did I have it with yesterday? And the day before that?" Adam said she ate with them both days. If that was the case, she might as well eat with Harry.

"See you later," Draco said as they entered the Great Hall. Henry blew him a kiss. "But ew." He followed the others with a laugh. A pair of seventh-year Ravenclaws stared at her in chock.

"What?" she muttered, refusing to feel embarrassed. "He's my best friend." She rushed past them to find Harry, who was today sitting with his back against Gryffindor, instead of Slytherin.

"Hello, princess," he joked. "Has Draco told you the rumours?"

"Only summarised them. Why, are they bad?" She sat down, and Terry Boot immediately handed her steaming potatoes. "Thank you."

"A friend from Hufflepuff said you broke Ron's nose," said Padma. "My favourite is that you rejected his love confession."

Henry guffawed. "It hasn't even been four hours, how did _that_ happen?"

"Rumours spiraled," the girl replied.

"Tell me more!"

* * *

Ron was ignoring her, she was sure of it. For the past several days, whenever they had lessons together, he moved as far away from her as physically possible, and never looked at her for longer than a moment. Fred and George said it was because he was ashamed, and promised to deliver a proper apology from him soon.

"Please don't do anything harsh," she begged them and threw a rock in the Black Lake. Sirius dove after it.

"Of course not! Who do you think we are?" said Fred.

"Yeah, exactly! But we might turn his hair green, or what do you say, Gred?" replied George.

Henry rolled her eyes, but trusted them not to traumatise their brother too much.

That afternoon, Slytherin had Charms. Professor Flitwick jumped on the nostalgia train when a student asked about dueling spells, and he couldn't stop talking about his days as a dueling champion. Henry had actually forgotten he used to be one, and found herself engrossed in his tales. Theo and Adam even managed to convince the teacher to show them a few spells.

Professor Flitwick transfigured a book into a dueling mannequin. "We used to train with these," he explained to them, and shot Expelliarmus at it, disarming it. "They move according to a predetermined pattern, and mostly the one dueling them isn't the one charming it." That earned him a few laughs.

At the end of the day, they were still talking about it. Draco and Theo talked about starting a dueling club, but Blaise shot down the idea by reminding them they had enough on their plates already.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to throw in some useful dueling spells," Henry promised. They already had the afternoon classes, no need to start a club. They could practice dueling there, too.

When she told Harry about it a few hours later in the Room of Requirement, he frowned.

"You said they left hints, right? In the book, I mean. We already suspect they might do the same now, so… do you think that was his hint?"

"Harry, that wasn't a hint, that was straight up giving the answer."

He grinned. "So? He's pretty clever, hiding it in plain sight like that. And it was fortunate that student asked him about dueling, otherwise who knows when or if he had told you?"

She shook her head at that, but agreed Flitwick's challenge probably had to do with dueling. In other words, she had to take time off studies to read up on dueling spells.

Going to Astronomy that night, Henry felt lighthearted again. Ron was (hopefully) dealt with, and things were looking good with the Stone as well. She truly hoped the rest of the year was going to go as smoothly as these past months, because frankly, she was tired as all hell of feeling bad all the time.

* * *

The next morning, Henry was eating breakfast with Fred and George and Hermione. Ron was sitting a few rows down with Neville, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, trying his best to ignore Henry.

"He still hasn't apologised?" Hermione asked, throwing him a glance.

"Nope, but I'm sure Fred and George have that covered."

They nodded, a twin pair of gleeful grins on their faces. Henry was grateful she wasn't on the receiving end of them.

"Might want to tone down the serial killer grins, guys," she said and smiled. "You kind of give off certain… mad vibes." More like murderous.

"Oh, don't worry, Ron's our dear little brother, no way we're hurting him," George assured her.

"A lot, at least."

" _Fred_!" Henry sighed. "You really don't need to force it. Let him take the time he needs. And I don't need an apology; I don't care anymore. I was in the right, at least more than he was. It's enough that I'm aware of it." Just like with Pansy, she was done dealing with this. Ron had been punished for what he did, and she saw no reason to make it worse on him.

"When you've done wrong, you should apologise," said Fred, no longer grinning. "It's the proper thing to do, to actually show that you've learned your lesson."

"Fine, I'll stop talking about it."

As to save her from the topic, the owls arrived. Hedwig left a letter in her lap and took some bacon as pay, before flying over to Harry to beg for more.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Errol, the Weasley family's owl, drop something in Fred's food. She looked up to see him leave a letter with Ron too.

"Oh, crap," George muttered to her right. "Did you see the colour?"

"What about it?" asked Henry, who thought the thing Errol dropped was red.

"It's a Howler. It's an enchanted letter, and if he opens it here…"

Henry was out of her seat before he could finish. She remembered the embarrassment Ron suffered in _the Chamber of Secrets_ when Molly sent a Howler. She had meant what she said when she thought there was no need to make it worse for Ron. That included sending raging letters. Molly lost a bit of respect with that, because who sent a screaming letter to their eleven-year-old son to be heard by the _entire school_?

"RONALD WEASLEY!" the letter bellowed. "HOW UTTERLY DARE YOU TO—"

"Incendio!"

The letter burst into flames and Molly Weasley's rage filled voice died. The Hall was completely silent, enough for a needle to be heard if dropped.

Seeing the silent tears falling down Ron's face, Henry had had enough. She dragged him out of the Hall and all the way to one of the secret passages, where she let him cry in peace.

_What utter bullshit was that?_ she thought. _He's her_ son _! She shouldn't humiliate him like that._ Thank Merlin she had learned Incendio, or they might have had to listen to the whole letter ranting about Ron's actions.

"Why did you do that?"

She glanced at him. "Because I'm tired of hurting others."

"You didn't send that. Mum did."

"Yeah, but it feels like it's my fault, and… and I don't think you deserve any of this. I mean, I don't forgive you, because it was a shitty thing to do, but I don't want to put you down either. If you've learned your lesson, then that's enough for me."

"I'm sorry I cast that spell," he mumbled, with his face against his knees. "I was… It's not a valid excuse, but I was angry, and I wasn't thinking. And I ended up hurting you and everyone else."

Henry nodded, glad he realised at least this much. She wasn't expecting him to change overnight, such things never happened, but from now on, she hoped Ron would change for the better, to learn from this experience.

"Do you still think I'm evil?" she asked quietly.

"I dunno… You were always odd, a Halfblood hanging out with the Pureblood elite, and you're a know-it-all, troublemaker and—"

" _I'm_ the troublemaker?" she exclaimed. "What! Is that how you see me?" He nodded. "Oh Merlin. I've made one prank, _one_ , and suddenly…"

"Well… you did land yourself in detention for the whole year, and you're always rude to teachers."

"I'm rude to _Snape_ , and can you blame me?" She winced, hearing how horrible that sounded. "Okay, I admit, that's pretty immature, but he has it out for me, so really it's just a reaction. But… Aw, crap."

"What?"

"I'm trying to prove a point here, and you bring up the only man in this entire school I cannot stand at all." She sat down opposite of him, leaning her head against the cold stone wall. "Fine, I'll try to be the bigger person."

Ron smiled faintly. "Trying to make yourself seem better than others, Potter?"

"Shut it, Weasley." Her grin took the edge of her words. "Alright, you're right, I'm a troublemaker. Blame dad, I heard he was much worse… What? Do I have something on my face?" Ron was looking at her intensely, and it was weirding her out.

"I thought you were going to cry."

"Because I thought of dad?" He nodded. "Well, no. I'm feeling quite good at the moment, so I don't really miss him. Or… I don't miss the concept."

Ron frowned, not understanding what she meant.

"I don't remember him, so how can I miss him? But I _do_ miss _something_ , and that's the concept of _a_ father. James Potter… is a stranger."

"That's… sad. Don't your aunt and uncle have pictures?"

She laughed without humour. Petunia and Vernon, having pictures of _witches and wizards_? She'd like to see that! No, there were none, and if there were, they were hidden well.

"I'm sorry to hear that. They don't sound that nice," Ron offered.

"You don't have to say that. I didn't tell you to earn sympathy."

He got offended at that. "So? Of course I feel sorry for you! No one should live like that."

_Not even the evil Slytherin princess?_ she thought dryly. "Thanks."

"Uh-huh. Now, why are you telling _me_ this? Shouldn't you talk about this with friends? Like Fred and George?"

"There's no particular reason I told you. You asked, and I answered."  
"Aren't you oversharing?"

She shrugged. "Again, if you ask, I answer. It's not like I try to hide it. Rather, I wish Dumbledore would do something about it."

Ron blinked. "Is that why Fred and George asked mum to let you stay in the Burrow over the summer?"

"What? No, that's because of something else entirely." Though if they ever heard of her circumstances, she was sure it would become another reason. "But I've told them not to bother. Dumbledore won't let us stay."

"But _why_?"

She looked away. Because of the wards surrounding Number Four. That house was the perfect place to hide them, to keep them safe. Until Voldemort blasts the wards to kingdom come. What book was that, again? Or did it actually happen? She'd read up on that later. Thank Merlin she had a journal.

"Because of reasons. I mean, if he hasn't placed us somewhere else after ten years, why would he now?" She stood and dusted herself off. "Feeling better? If so, let's go back. I think class is about to start."

* * *

After the first lesson, DADA, where they learned about Erumpents (that Henry vaguely remembered from _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ ), they had Potions. In reality, they were supposed to have Transfiguration, but Professor McGonagall was suddenly unavailable. Snape still sneered at her when he saw her, but since she had made up with Ron, she ignored it. Why bother with someone so childish when she could concentrate on her studies?

"Miss Potter," Snape said as everyone left the classroom. "A moment."

Hesitating for only a moment, Henry walked up to his desk. "What is it, Professor?"

"I took the time to sort through some photos, and thought you might want these." He handed her a worn album. Feeling like she was suffocating, she took it and slowly opened it.

The album was full of pictures of a young Snape and Lily. They were arranged from oldest to youngest, meaning that on the first page, they were only toddlers. Lily looked so happy, grinning side by side with a young Severus Snape.

Transfixed, she flipped through the album, landing on a particular picture. Lily was wearing a flowery summer dress, with a flower crown on her head. Beside her sat Snape, also wearing one. They were surrounded by flowers, obviously sitting in a field of sorts. The year was written underneath. It was the summer before they went to Hogwarts.

Snape leaned forward and offered a handkerchief. She took it with a silent 'thank you' and wiped her tear streaked face. She still didn't like him, but she was grateful.

"I really _do_ look like her," she said. "You were right—I'm her spitting image. No wonder…" No wonder he hated her so much. She knew already, of course, that she looked exactly like Lily, but she had never seen pictures of her, and she didn't remember what she looked like. That fateful night Voldemort killed her had long since faded, and now she only remembered that it _had_ happened.

Snape sat silently for a moment, letting her look at the pictures some more, before he broke the silence. "Her maiden name was Lily Evans. We grew up together."

Something came over Henry just then, and she looked at him. "Do you hate it that much, the fact that she married dad?"

He nodded begrudgingly. "Your father and I… We never saw eye to eye."

She looked at the album. "Why give me this, Professor? You don't like me, and I certainly don't like you. I don't… I don't understand."

He cocked his head to the side. "It was… in the spur of the moment. You are free to go, Miss Potter."

She nearly bowed before rushing to the exit. Before leaving, she turned one last time to look at him. "I'm sorry you didn't see eye to eye. I'm sure… I'm sure mum regretted that."

"Miss Potter." She threw a glance over her shoulder. He was standing up now. "Do you know what Occlumency is?"

How was she supposed to answer that? Should she tell him the truth? No way, just because he did one good deed didn't mean she could trust him, or that he was suddenly a good person.

"I have heard of it, why?"

"Nothing. Now hurry. If I hear you're late for your next class, I'll remove two points from Slytherin."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Professor."

Hurrying to History of Magic, she pressed the photo album to her chest and squealed. Wait till she told Harry!

* * *

Harry was having a conversation with Daycrusher when Henry found them. They were at the bank of the Black Lake, on the opposite side of the Forbidden Forest. Daycrusher greeted her warmly, and Harry threw his arm around her shoulder, puller her close.

"Daycrusher just told me something interesting," he said and kissed her temple. "Daycrusher, can you—" Henry shoved the album in his face, and he yelped. "What's this?"

"Opeeeeeen." She leaned against him, eagerly waiting for his reaction.

Harry laughed and shook his head. Whatever was in the book, it must be good if Henry behaved like an excited puppy. Curious about the content, he opened the book.

Henry looked at her brother's face, not wanting to miss his reaction.

Harry was surprised at first, because he didn't know who the toddlers were. Then he read the caption, and the date. Then he flipped through a few other photos.

"Henry," he said calmly and closed the album. "What is the meaning of this?"

"What?" She took the album, but the pictures were the same. "I don't understand, why are you angry?" It's just pictures of Lily. She thought he'd be happy seeing her face.

"I don't need parents! Henry, didn't I tell you? I don't care! As long as I have you, I don't care about them or what they looked like. You're the only one I need!"

_No, wait, why is he angry? Harry, why are you angry?_

"I thought you wanted to see them," she mumbled. "I mean… No, forget it. I'm sorry." She packed the album in her bag and stood. "Sorry, I didn't think it meant you didn't even want to see them. _Ssso, Daycrusssher, what were you talking about jussst now?"_

The snake looked between the twins, clearly uncomfortable. " _The turban teacher, he went to the third floor yesssterday. There are creaturesss and a big tree down there, and a big empty ssspace."_

" _Do you know what kind of creaturesss?"_

Daycrusher shook his head. " _Winged onesss. I have never ssseen them before."_

" _Alright, thank you ssso much."_ She glanced at Harry. "I'm sorry." Since he didn't reply, she bid Daycrusher goodbye and left. Hopefully he calmed down if she left him alone for a while.

She stopped by Hagrid to see how he had it. He had come back from the Forbidden Forest, and promised to take her with him if she came by a bit earlier next time. She took him up on his offer for tea, but didn't feel like telling him about her argument with Harry. If _she_ didn't understand why he had gotten upset, then Hagrid wouldn't either.

Spending time with him didn't make her feel as good as it used to, and she returned to the castle with a feeling of disappointment.

"Oh!" she exclaimed once inside, nearly running into someone.

"Sorry," Ron said. "Didn't see you there." He paused. "If you're upset, Fred and George are in the Tower. I'm on my way there, so… Would you like to see them?"

"Yes please." She followed after him. "Thank you."

They walked in total silence, neither knowing what to say or having anything particular they wanted to talk about. They weren't close enough to talk about their true feelings, and commenting on the weather was so cliché just the thought left a bad taste in Henry's mouth.

They climbed up the moving stairs, and finally found themselves in front of the Gryffindor entrance. Ron hesitated to reveal the password, since Henry wasn't a Gryffindor, _and_ in Slytherin.

"Cast Muffliato on me," she said helpfully. "Then I won't hear a word you say."

"I… I don't know that spell."

"I see. How about Silencio?"

"That's the one you use all the time, right?"

She nodded. "It renders people in the vicinity temporarily deaf to your voice, so they don't hear what you say."

"That's neat."

She grinned. If he wanted to learn more about it, he was welcome to the afternoon class on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

"Neville is in it, so just ask him to take you there," she said. "I'll cast Silencio on myself now, by the way." She didn't catch what he tried to say, but she did notice the guilt-ridden expression.

He led her inside without repeating his words, and she didn't ask. He obviously didn't feel like repeating it.

Fred and George were sitting by the burning fire, with Lee Jordan telling them a funny story. Henry wondered if it was as hilarious as Fred and George made it look.

"Guys," Ron called. "I brought you someone."

"Move!" said Henry and threw herself across the couch. Fred and George let out something between groans and laughs.

"Hello there little snake, it's an honour to have you squash us to death." George patted her head as he said it, and she gave him a wide grin in reply. "Did you become friends?"

"Nah, we're just not enemies anymore," she replied and stood. The twins gladly moved so she could sit between then.

Ron shook his head, but couldn't hide the small smile on his face. "I'm going to look for Neville, see you."

"Don't forget the afternoon class!" Henry called after him. "Now, pat me some more."

Fred snorted. "What's made you in such a good mood?"

"Yeah, you look positively radiant," George agreed. Henry glanced at Lee, who made a thumbs-up.

"Well, I'm currently trying not to think of my argument with Harry, and what better way to do that than pretend everything's fine?"

The three of them gave her expressions in varying degrees of "are you serious?" and she giggled nervously.

"So, since keeping everything to yourself didn't work the first time…" said Fred in exasperation.

"… You try to pretend instead that it wasn't a big deal and that everything's a-ok?" continued George.

"Well, yes."

Lee shook his head. "Do we need to tell you how bad of an idea that is?" They really didn't. She understood that keeping everything inside wasn't going to work in the long run.

"What am I supposed to do then?"

"Tell us the problem first."

She handed Fred the album, and it took only a moment for him to realise what it was.

"You gave your brother pictures of the most hated teacher in Hogwarts?"

"Uh, no, I showed him baby pictures of _mum_ ," she corrected him. "But he obviously didn't appreciate that, because he blew a fuse almost immediately."

"So he was upset because… what, exactly?" asked Lee. "I mean, sure, you've been together forever, and I don't think even You-Know-Who can break you apart, so why is he going mad over baby pictures?"

"That's what I want to know." Henry leaned her head on Fred's shoulder. "Do you think he felt I betrayed him? I mean, he said he doesn't care if he has parents as long as I'm here, so…"

"You're afraid he feels like you're forcing your parents on him," Lee guessed. "I guess that's one way to look at it."

"It's the only way I can think of right now."

"I suggest you talk to him about it," George said. "That way, you'll get a definite answer."

"True that. Now, can I stay here until dinner?"

"But of course! You're welcome anytime." None of them missed the sour looks their fellow Gryffindors threw them. "Don't mind them." George winked at her, and she laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… I forgot an entire subplot in this draft… Those of you that read the last one might remember Valentine's Day, which is totally absent this time. That's because I forgot it even existed, and only remembered because I wrote Dean Thomas' name in this chapter. So, I guess I'll put it in the second book. Oops.


End file.
